Wow, ya'll. I am sorry it's taken me almost two years to update. I had a difficult time with the events that arise in the next few chapters, and let's face it, life happens. I really believed that with the pandemic, I'd get a lot more done with this fic, but better late than never, eh? I am one hundred percent determined to finish this fic, so thanks to all the people who have been faithfully reading. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. As always, thanks to Kubo-sama for his marvelous characters. Enjoy!


Coyote Starrk sat at the edge of his bed, staring out through the black iron bars of his prison cell. The incessant bickering from Tia's nearby fraccion was giving him a headache. When would they ever shut up? It had already been two weeks since his resurrection, and he was still sore from the ordeal. He was also significantly weaker, and felt lighter, as though the majority of his body mass had been ripped away.

When he first roused from his slumber, he did not recognize his surroundings. He saw people clothed in black and white, but it was not in the traditional style of Hueco Mundo. He tried to jog his memory and was just beginning to recall the details of his fight with Shunsui Kyoraku when he felt his hands being tied behind his back and heard the raspy voice that he would quickly come to loathe.

"I am Kurotsuchi-taicho, Captain of the Twelfth Division. You have recently been resurrected from your death. You will now be sent to the Nest of Maggots until a time deemed appropriate for retrieval. You will be fed and clothed, and you will be allowed to fraternize with other prisoners. Do not attempt to do anything foolish, like escaping. Over time, if you prove yourself trustworthy, you will be moved to a less restrictive area."

Starrk barely understood.

Resurrected?

So he'd been defeated?

Where was Lilynette?!

"Where is Lilynette?" he croaked. His voice sounded like he hadn't spoken in months, it was so hoarse. He barely recognized it.

"She has been assigned to another chamber in the Nest of Maggots. You will be allowed to see her during social hours."

"Let me go," came Starrk's weak command, but it held no authority.

"Take him away," said the Captain with the painted face.

Starrk was so weak that he had to be carried to the Nest and was unable to do anything but sleep for at least two days. It wasn't until he'd heard that insufferable bickering in an adjacent cell that he was beginning to get a better handle on his movements and senses. It felt like he had just been born. Like a baby, he had to relearn how to control his limbs, hands and fingers, and understand his senses. Nearly all of his reiatsu had been cruelly stripped away, yet remarkably, he was still in human form.

Reuniting with Lilynette felt very much like coming home. Since he was still weak, she had rushed to his cell to visit him during what he assumed was her break time. She sat at his side like their times in Hueco Mundo. When he was finally well enough to get up and walk around, she gave him a tour—however short—of the places around the Nest they were allowed to frequent. He was surprised that Tia and her Fraccion had also been resurrected. He soon approached her, and they had a brief conversation about her experience. Her resurrection was comparable to his, yet she seemed to be more indifferent to her circumstances.

It was good to have allies in a place like that. Since he was probably at about a thousandth of his usual strength, he did not wish to make enemies. Tia and her fraccion mainly kept to themselves, and for that he was grateful. How the hell Tia tolerated them, he would never know. He was grateful for Lilynette, too, but also distressed that she was trapped here along with him. It was odd to see her in foreign garments. Like everyone else, she was dressed in prison attire, and once he recovered a bit more, he had to stifle his laugh. Starrk could tell she hated the clothes.

She explained to him that because there was no current rulership in Hueco Mundo, the shinigami were able to quickly infiltrate the kingdom, locate her, and abduct her in order to assist with his resurrection.

"I thought you'd died along with me."

"Part of me did," she replied, not meeting his eyes. "But I was worried about what would happen if the two of us got defeated by that shinigami with the two swords. When he was preoccupied with you, a wolf from my pack split herself in two, and one of them found her way back to Hueco Mundo. I…felt your death, even from the other side, and somehow I managed to survive."

Lilynette told him that it was Orihime who had performed the task of resurrection. She scowled. "I really hated her. The fact that she would betray us like that, just go back with the shinigami after joining us, training with us…befriending us…I really hated her. But after you died…" Lilynette grew quiet. She, like him, did not like to reveal her emotions, especially when it came to any type of affection.

"Well, let's just say she brought you back, so we're even now."

"You're getting soft," Starrk mumbled.

"Baka."

But Starrk could see a faint gloss in his comrade's eyes.

.oOo.

When Starrk gained full control of his limbs, he was escorted out of the Nest of Maggots to the SRDI where the Twelfth Squad started their series of diagnostic tests. They asked him to perform basic arrancar functions, like pesquisa and sonido. He was dismayed to discover that he struggled with these. When he tried assessing the power of the shinigami around him, an unusual blockage was preventing him from making an accurate assessment, so he was always off. And though he could still perform sonido, it paled in comparison to the distance and speed he could cover in Hueco Mundo.

It was humiliating, being treated like some specimen, and being powerless to stop it. He overheard a conversation among Tia's fraccion about an escape plan, but he just scoffed at them. His assessment of the situation was quite bleak. At maximum security, they would be executed on sight, so he was simply too unmotivated to help them. Lilynette would likely just follow his lead, despite her badgering to the contrary.

About a month after Starrk had been revived, if he was counting the days correctly, he witnessed a guard preparing the cell across from him. He grimly wondered who the next victim would be. Another Espada, perhaps? Was Soul Society going to resurrect Barragan? If so, they'd have the top three Espada at weakened states, which he had to admit was a clever move, despite how sick it was.

He waited. And waited. And waited. About a day and a half passed before several guards arrived, carrying another one of his former comrades, but it was not Barragan Louisenbairn, former king of Hueco Mundo. He moved to the edge of his cell to get a better look.

"Ulquiorra?" he asked aloud, but the former Fourth Espada was unconscious, much like Starrk had been when he was first revived.

It's probably going to take a couple days before he'll even be able to speak.

Starrk returned to sit at the edge of his bed. Orihime had likely resurrected this one, too. It was ironic how badly Aizen had underestimated that girl. Still, despite everything, he sincerely hoped Orihime was getting along well. He had always felt a little guilty knowing that she was just being used as a pawn, and part of him was glad that she was spared the power of the Hogyoku.

.oOo.

About two days later, at the beginning of the prisoners' break time, Starrk was just about to head over to the tables where he normally would meet with Lilynette when he saw a noticeable stir on the bed in the cell across from him. Ulquiorra appeared to be attempting, and failing, to lift himself up.

All the doors automatically opened at the top of the break hour, so Starrk ambled over into Ulquiorra's cell. He leaned against one of the walls, crossing his arms. Hands flat atop the bed, Ulquiorra was letting out feeble grunts. He was attempting to push himself up, but his arms were shaking from weakness. He continued to try, and fail, until he finally closed his eyes and gave up, lightly panting.

At that moment, Lilynette walked in, and Starrk asked her, "Did I really look that pathetic?"

"Pretty much."

"Keh."

Ulquiorra's eyelids slowly opened, followed by faint, hoarse babbling. Starrk strained his ears a bit before uncrossing his arms and walking over to his former associate. Ulquiorra was gazing at the wall across from him. His eyelids were barely open, and from the look of it, he was far too weak to even shift his eyes to look at Starrk. He probably didn't even notice anyone else was in the room with him.

"Oi, Ulquiorra, did you say something? Can you hear me?"

Starrk barely made out a feeble Where am I?

Starrk let out a huff, not quite knowing how to break the news. But he didn't have to, as Ulquiorra's eyes closed again, exhaustion from the resurrection dragging him off to slumber once again.

"He is not going to be happy when he finds out what happened," Lilynette noted.

It was true. While Starrk and everyone else were distressed about captivity, Ulquiorra was more the sort of individual who would be upset about the resurrection itself. Not that Starrk was too thrilled about his own circumstances.

"He's smart. It probably won't take him long to figure it out," Starrk muttered.

They both left the cell, spending the remainder of their break hour discussing the fate of their new cellmate.

.oOo.

The following day, Starrk was catching up on his afternoon nap when he was abruptly awakened by his cell door rattling open; entering in were three burly shinigami in odd-looking accessories and painted faces. They'd come to escort him to the SRDI, for the routine "tests" he was growing to hate more and more by the day.

"That time of day again, huh?"

They didn't breathe a word in response, as usual. He tipped his head at the tallest of the three. Not even a blink in reply. Sometimes Starrk wondered whether that psycho Captain of theirs tore off their tongues so they couldn't complain about their work.

"You guys really need to stop talking so much," he said dryly. "It's a huge pain."

He obliged them, rising from his bed and slipping his feet into his shoes. As he passed through the cell opening, he was surprised to see Ulquiorra finally awake, and standing up, no less, with a hand gripping one of his cell bars. Ulquiorra was staring at him. Judging by the look on his face, Starrk felt a twinge of pity, realizing that the former Fourth Espada had likely put all the pieces together. Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes in an unspoken question as he met Starrk's gaze, but Starrk could only give him a resigned shrug.

Ulquiorra had likely sensed his diminished strength, had likely noticed the shinigami uniforms donned by the guards, and had likely already surmised that escape was implausible. Starrk knew all too well, and he was not looking forward to the grim conversation he'd have to have with the former Fourth Espada once he returned to his cell.

.oOo.

"I see," was all Ulquiorra said.

He was facing Starrk from the inside of his prison cell. His two hands gripped the bars, more out of necessity than will, his knees were so feeble. As Ulquiorra was slowly regaining his senses, he could not recall a time when he'd felt so weak. His brain, too, felt as though it was slogging through a dense fog, as though he was still awakening from some sort of suffocating slumber. His voice, still hoarse, betrayed no emotion despite the subtle rage coiling in his belly.

So, the woman has had a hand in this.

It was to be expected, knowing how she operated. From what Starrk had explained, she'd been recruited to revive several of the arrancar at very limited capacity. If it weren't such a pathetic situation, Ulquiorra might have been impressed with her ability to accomplish such a feat. But now he was to share the same fate as some of the most ineffective members of Las Noches. Despite their high rank, Ulquiorra had always considered Starrk to be lazy, and Tia to be incapable of leadership, as evidenced by her inability to control the drama of her squabbling fraccion.

And Aizen.

He'd been…defeated. Downfall at the hands of a substitute shinigami. It was the most shocking revelation of all. Despite the power the shinigami had acquired towards the end of his battle with Ulquiorra, it should have been an easy win for his former commander. Learning of the loss nearly drew a sneer from Ulquiorra's mouth. Never in a million years could he have imagined that he was destined to rot away under such pitiful circumstances. Starrk had no answer as to how much time had passed since Aizen's defeat, but he suspected it might have been at least a year.

A full year had passed, and she had the power to resurrect him out of thin air.

It seems my work with her in Hueco Mundo has ultimately bolstered the strength of Soul Society…and contributed to my own revival.

Such contemptible circumstances. He had asked that worthless shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki to annihilate him for a reason. There were fates worse than death, more deplorable than defeat. Ulquiorra glowered at the cold black bars entrapping him, his pale fingers tensely wrapped around the iron. He stared across the way into Starrk's eyes, slowly coming to understand the wretchedness of his imprisonment.

.oOo.

"It's absolutely despicable!" Matsumoto cried. She inhaled a cup of sake, slammed it on the table, and poured herself another round.

Seated across from her at their usual spot—located in a private corner so that they could be free to discuss shinigami business—were Kyouraku, Ukitake, and unusually, Nanao. As Shunsui poured himself a fifth cup of sake, Nanao gave him her usual disapproving look.

"I know I shouldn't be acting like this is news," Matsumoto continued. "We've known for a while now about this new experiment of Captain Kurotsuchi's. But this crosses some serious lines."

"Well, if Captain Kurotsuchi is moving forward with no reprimand, then it's no question that Yama-jii has authorized it all," Ukitake stated.

"Have you heard what goes on down there? The experiments they're doing? Nemu can't get into many details, but she says enough at the Vice Captain briefings to make my stomach churn."

"It does sound quite off-putting," Nanao agreed.

Matsumoto shook her head. "The last one they revived—Ulquiorra—Something about it was off. It took way longer than the other ones, a total of two weeks. From what I heard, he almost didn't make it, and they can't figure out why. Orihime was able to revive that female arrancar and her fraccion in no more than three days, so it doesn't make much sense."

Despite all her talk of mystery, Matsumoto had a strong hunch that Orihime's emotional attachment to the Fourth Espada was the primary reason behind the length of time it took to revive him. Whether Orihime savored the healing process because it meant she would be around him, or whether her feelings made the process more volatile, it was something to take note of.

"Well, I'm sad to say that it's not like we can do anything about it," said Kyoraku, downing his sixth cup of sake. "It's Kurotsuchi's division. He can do as he sees fit, so long as he has authorization."

At the lieutenant meeting earlier that day, Nemu had divulged a few details about the experiments. Since Orihime had been successful with the revivals, some of the research details had been declassified, and all the Vice Captains were now informed about various occurrences in the Nest of Maggots. Nemu had hinted that, despite the success of the resurrections, one of the Espada was having a difficult time with subsequent "trials," as Nemu described them, and they were contemplating a "disposal" to save time and resources. Matsumoto had a really good idea about which of the Espada it was, but she needed to be sure.

That night, Matsumoto struggled with falling asleep. The following day, she shunpoed over to her office far earlier than normal and dug through her stack of unfinished assignments. It took a good two hours, but about halfway through the sheaves of papers, she found what she was looking for. Every so often she'd get classified assignments that required delivering documents to the Nest of Maggots. These were usually research bits collected from missions that might prove useful in regulating the prisoners. She dug through the file some more to find the required pass, which looked good enough to buy her some time to poke around the Nest.

Matsumoto wasted no time. In seconds, she was at the Nest's threshold, flashing her pass and entering with ease. It had been years since she'd stepped foot in the prison, but not much had changed. Reaching back into the recesses of her memory, she was able to navigate her way to the research lab where she was certain to find information on the Espada. It wasn't too long before she stumbled on a door that read Research Lab – Authorized Personnel Only, and she pushed her way in without a second thought.

As she stepped inside the lab, she quickly realized she was not alone. A tall man with medium, wavy brown hair and tired, gray eyes blinked in surprise as she walked in. In his hand was a half-eaten persimmon, the juice of which was trailing down his chin.

The man looked familiar. Matsumoto could have sworn that she'd seen him at some briefing in the past. She rattled her brain for several more moments when the name escaped her lips. "Coyote Starrk."

He wiped the orange liquid from his lips. "And just who might you be? The new administrator, I hope. I was seriously getting tired of those weird-looking things that don't talk."

Matsumoto had to stifle a laugh. "Unfortunately, no. I'm just here to drop off some papers. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone I was here. I got lost along the way."

The side of his mouth rose. "Your secret is safe with me."

It was her cue to leave, but she still needed information. She could either flirt, or she could ask a pointed question. After several seconds, she chose the path of least resistance.

She smiled and tossed her hair. "Thanks."

That got his attention. It was too easy. "I should get going, but I have just one question. I'm dying to know. Rumor has it that a bunch of Espada got resurrected, and, well, you look relatively normal compared to most of Kurotsuchi-taicho's subordinates."

Starrk chuckled at that.

"Are you one of the Espada that was revived?"

"I am, indeed."

She inched closer to him, batting her eyes. "Wow. What was it like?"

"Like being born. But it's an experience I wouldn't recommend."

Matsumoto drew her hand to her collarbone, rubbing sympathetically. "I'm sorry you went through that." She paused, thinking of how to best ask her next question. "It seems like you're doing alright, though?"

"If you call getting poked and prodded and being subject to humiliating tests 'alright,'" he retorted, with more than a hint of bitterness.

Matsumoto was close, she could feel it, to getting the information she needed. His relative state of health should be confirmation enough that Starrk was not the Espada struggling with the resurrection, but she needed to make sure it wasn't Tia.

"Are they performing these tests on the other arrancar?"

A nod. A pause. And then, "It'll probably be just two of us, soon, though, and Tia's fraccion. Ulquiorra's not doing too well. It's probably better, though. He isn't taking to the resurrection too well."

Matsumoto dropped the flirty act. "What are they going to do with him?"

Starrk raised his brow and gave her a knowing smile. "You're good, you know that?"

"Yes, I do. Now answer the question."

"You know, I kind of like this saucy version of you more. I thought you might be a higher rank, but it's hard for me to tell these days with my pesquisa shot," he said, taking another bite of the persimmon. "To answer your question, I can't be certain, because he really hasn't been super conscious since they started the tests. But when he had a few brief hours of coherence, he told me that he thinks they're going to finish him off. It's probably for the best. None of us really wants to be here. Hell, I'd trade places with him."

Starrk was looking her over. But it was not the uncouth look Matsumoto had grudgingly endured from thousands of men over the years. She was just about to turn and leave when he did something unexpected. He reached over to his side, plucked one of the persimmons from the pile next to him, and threw one over for her to catch. Blinking at the familiar fruit in her hand, she realized it had been a long time since she'd eaten one.

"Have one. For some reason, they give us tons of these things. So what's your name?"

Matsumoto's throat, now constricting with emotion, almost prohibited an answer. It was persimmon season, and she had been purposely avoiding the grocery stores. She shrugged it off. "Matsumoto Rangiku."

"I like you, Rangiku-san. Any chance you could bust me outta here? This place is a real drag."

She knew he said it in jest, but she answered truthfully. "I don't have that authority."

For some reason, she wished she did.

.oOo.

Yoruichi and Kisuke sat together on the back porch, discussing the grim events regarding Orihime. Tessai sat in a chair off to the side, sipping a cup of green tea. All had reached the agreement that Orihime's well-being should not have been so carelessly dismissed, that they should have looked deeper into Orihime's mood changes prior to the resurrections. It was rare, particularly for Kisuke, to be caught so woefully off guard. They had to hand it to Mayuri. To manipulate the dream realm in such a fashion crossed some serious legal boundaries and would not have been on their radar.

"So, are we just going to pretend like none of this happened?" Kisuke mused, drawing a cigarette to his lips.

"Realistically, there's nothing we can do. Mayuri got clearance. It's sick, but we don't have the resources to bust them out. And why the hell would we want to do that anyway? As much as I don't like any of this, the Nest of Maggots is the most logical place to put them. What would even be the point of rescuing hollows? Gimme that." Yoruichi yanked the cigarette from Kisuke and stole a puff.

"You're not wrong," came a familiar, female voice from behind them.

"Rangiku-san! I thought I sensed you," Kisuke said, taking his cigarette back from Yoruichi.

Matsumoto crossed over to where the three of them were seated and tossed a file at Kisuke's feet.

"What's this?"

"A five-month old assignment that gives me an excuse to be here."

Kisuke picked up the folder and thumbed through the pages. "Uh. Thanks? I don't even remember what I needed this for."

Yoruichi rose to her feet. "So what's the real reason you're here?"

"Is Orihime around?"

"No. She went to see her aunt."

"That horrible woman who sold her apartment after she disappeared?"

"None other," Yoruichi answered. "Orihime is a forgiving soul."

"Well, then I can get to the point. I normally wouldn't care, but I know Orihime is attached. They're going to kill off Ulquiorra."

Yoruichi coughed. "What? After everything Mayuri had to go through bringing him back? After what they did to Orihime?"

"Yeah. I got some intel earlier today. I couldn't get many details, but he doesn't seem to be taking very well to the revival. I know they've been doing all kinds of weird tests and things on the Espada. The others seem to be handling it pretty alright, but for some reason he's having a lot of difficulty progressing and healing."

"Hnh," Kisuke mused. "That's fascinating."

Yoruichi turned to face him. "Do you know something?"

"Just a theory I've been ruminating on. But it's nothing I can really confirm at the moment. Though he was a lower rank compared to the other two."

"But the fraccion are all much lower-ranked than he is," Matsumoto countered.

Kisuke flicked his cigarette. "Hnh. You know, the soul is a peculiar mechanism. The will to survive is a compelling asset. It holds more power than most realize."

"Are you saying he doesn't want to survive?" Matsumoto asked.

"He might not have a reason to. From the research we've done on him, he seemed to be a pretty dedicated subordinate. After such a comprehensive defeat, I would understand wanting to remain dead."

"But what about Orihime?" Matsumoto pressed. "I know he's a hollow, but this is ridiculous. We can't just let them destroy him."

"I think Orihime had really mixed feelings about bringing him back," said Yoruichi, but her tone suggested doubt.

There was a long pause before Kisuke spoke up again. The well-worn wrinkles that flanked his eyes revealed a mischief that anyone close to him would recognize.

"You're a good friend, Rangiku-san. I do have an idea."

"Well, that's why I came here," Matsumoto said.

Kisuke's idea was fairly simple. He would trade the Hogyoku research he managed to salvage from his SRDI days in exchange for for Ulquiorra. If he knew his former subordinate at all, Mayuri would salivate at the opportunity. As far as Kisuke knew, Mayuri had yet to collect relevant specifics around the powerful artifact.

"You're going to just hand it all over? I know it got you into a lot of trouble, but that trinket was the pinnacle of your career," noted Tessai as he finished off his cup of tea.

"I've retired from the business of exceptional trinkets and merging souls. And since the whole ordeal with the Vaizards, they've changed the laws. I'm not too worried about Mayuri taking things too far."

"You have a lot of confidence in the Captain Commander after all of this resurrection business," Yoruichi remarked.

"This is different. Trust me."

Tessai shook his head as he collected empty tea cups atop the table. "So how do you plan to approach Kurotsuchi-taicho?"

"When I make my quarterly rounds. Since they unbanned me from Seireitei after the war, the Twelfth has been ordering my merchandise directly. I'll just ask to see the Captain and make my offer then."

"And what if he refuses?" Matsumoto asked.

"He won't."


.:::.


Author's Note: I am looking for a beta for this fic. The last several chapters have not been beta-read, and I feel pretty horrible about it. For example, regarding Lilynette, I had not realized that she allegedly died along Starrk until I'd done more research into her background. In my head canon, she was still surviving for some reason. Ah, well, we've already deeply diverged from the canon at this stage. If beta reading interests you, please let me know. Preferably, you would have solid grammar skills and be familiar with the fandom. As always, thanks for reading! :D