It took Halibel and Grimmjow no more than ten minutes to reach the outer walls of Las Noches. The two Espada said not a word to each other the entire way there. Animosity between the two had been quite high for the past decade; Tia had extended a branch of peace towards Jaegerjaquez multiple times in the first few years, but the Sexta was too prideful and standoffish to accept a peaceful invite. That was when the duels started, and why they continued.
They had seen the patrol squad of Calaveras standing outside the front gates from a long distance away, at least three dozen waiting at attention. Taking cover behind a large rock formation, Tia devised a plan in her head to deal with the revolt. Rudbornn had certainly betrayed them, but who else may have? What Quincy were they working along with?
Certainly not Bambietta Basterbine and her little clique; Halibel had been informed by the Soul Society that they had fallen back into lives as ordinary humans. They were closely observed regardless, but they never caused any trouble at all. The only other one she knew of was NaNaNa Najahkoop, but he was an undead servant of Kurotsuchi. There was no way in hell he could be behind this. He was practically a slave.
"Well?" Grimmjow spoke up, "What's your amazing plan?"
"I can't sense Nel's reiatsu," Tia replied, "I think she may have been defeated."
"Hmph. That's her problem."
"She's why we're here in the first place, you fool. We have to rescue her and find out who our enemy is."
"Doesn't matter who they are," the Sexta grinned, "Not one of them can possibly stop me. You can rescue your girlfriend and leave all of them to me."
"…I should have left you behind."
Disgusted with the panther, Tia peered around the rock again, thinking of the direction to attack the Calaveras from. Above? Run straight at them? Fire from a-
"Wait a minute," she said more to herself than her company, "Is that Pesche and Dondochakka?"
Sure enough, the two energetic Fracciones were walking right up to the squad of troops. She could see Pesche shaking a fist at them, his bigger friend jumping up and down in anger. Hoping to see them die, Grimmjow took a look himself.
"The hell are those idiots doing?"
"They probably felt Nel's reiatsu drop too. They are very close to her, and are likely worried."
They watched as Pesche kicked sand at the soldier right in front of him, before spraying him in the face with a large amount of his Infinite Slick. The two began to dance in celebration of their rebelliousness, but froze in place as all the Calaveras drew their blades.
"Well then," Halibel smirked, watching as Pesche and Dondochakka started sprinting away, the entire horde of troops running after them, "Those two just saved us some time."
"Good. They'll die and won't ever bother me again."
"Doubtful. They might not be very bright, but they are resourceful."
"Just got to go and kill my dreams, don't you?"
With the coast clear, Halibel and Grimmjow made a dash towards the gate. The two were inside in minutes, Halibel taking one look over her shoulder as she watched Nel's friends turn to do combat with the enemy. Pesche jumped on top of Dondochakka's back, both of them creating a Cero and merging them together. Its destructive power blew right through the center of the Exequitas forces, sending them on the retreat. The two started dancing again as they now became the hunters, swinging their Zanpakutos in the air and shouting like maniacs.
If only the Tres Bestias could get along like those two did.
The hallways within the castle were emptier than usual. There were usually at least a few Arrancars loitering about, but Tia and Grimmjow could not sense a single one. None of the Calaveras were on guard, either. They stood in front of the massive door leading to the throne room, sensing two massive spiritual pressures within.
"The enemy knew we would be coming," Halibel said, "They are all congregated in here."
"Good," Grimmjow cracked his knuckles, "Won't have to hunt them down then."
He started to walk forward, but was stopped by Halibel's blade. She gave him a stern look. "If anything goes wrong, if anything happens to me, you get Nel out of there no matter what. Go back to the Tres Bestias. You'll be in charge. Make whatever decisions you feel are right."
"Stop being dramatic. We'll kick their asses like usual. They can't beat us. We survived longer than the other Espada for a reason."
"…Heh."
"What's so funny?"
"That's the closest thing to a compliment I've ever heard come out of your mouth."
Grimmjow kept his eyes on the door. "Only stating the facts. Now let's kill these bastards."
With a solid kick, the Sexta opened up the doors, knocking one off of its hinges. It hit the floor with an enormous thud, crushing a group of Calaveras that had been lying in wait to ambush the Espada. Tia and Grimmjow strode into the room, taking in their surroundings. At least a hundred Calaveras were lined up against the walls, with a single row standing guard at the base of the staircase. Tia's eyes naturally followed up to the peak of the room, where Rudbornn and a helmeted figure she did not recognize stood.
"Welcome," BG9 announced, holding one hand out of his cloak in a greeting gesture, "Designations: Tia Halibel and Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Tres and Sexta Espadas, respectively. I have been anticipating your arrival. I am BG9. Designation: Sternritter-
A small cero flew right at the robot's head. One of his tentacles quickly emerged to intercept it. BG9 gazed down at Grimmjow, who had already drawn his sword.
"I didn't come here to talk, Quincy scum," the panther grinned, "I came to beat your ass down."
"Predictable," BG9 stated, unfazed by the threat, "The daten collected on you was very accurate. Your impulsiveness and enjoyment of combat is as expected."
Halibel brushed past Grimmjow, pointing her giant weapon at BG9 and Rudbornn. "Where is Nel?"
"That is one of your two questions I permit you to ask," BG9 declared, "There is little time in my plans to adjust for more."
The robot opened up his cloak, a mass of tentacles unraveling within to show the small infant Nel within. He pulled the child out with one appendage, handing over to Rudbornn.
"Miss Hollybelle!" Nel screamed out the moment she saw her friend, "Help me! Pwease!"
"Quiet, you!" Rudbornn said angrily, bringing his fist down on her mask to knock her out.
That was a mistake.
Suddenly, an enraged Tia was standing between the two conspirators. She cut off BG9's extended arm and blasted him with a scalding hot stream of water, sending the hybrid flying back. She spun around to attack Rudbornn, but he had used Sonido to reach the bottom of the stairs before she could get him.
"Traitor!" Tia roared at the bull, "You'll die for that!"
"He'll be dead, alright!" Grimmjow shouted, jumping into the fray and firing a large Cero at the many Calaveras. The explosion blinded Rudbornn, but he still managed to lift Arbol in time to stop Grimmjow from cutting his head off.
"If you fight me so recklessly," Rudbornn said to the Espada, "You'll certainly kill Nelliel."
"She's tough," Grimmjow gave him a violent grin as he gained leverage on the bull, "She'll be just fine!"
Halibel watched the two trade sword strikes with one another, Grimmjow easily dispatching any Calavera that tried to sneak attack him. Hearing the sound of metal, she quickly turned and fired another blast of La Gota at a recovered BG9. The robot dodged with Hirenkyaku, then closed in on the Espada with Gamuza in hand. Tia recognized it as Nel's sword as she blocked his strike, and glared at him.
"How do you have her Zanpakuto?"
"That is your final question," BG9 answered, creating another sword from reishi to act as his other arm, "It was not the most optimal one to ask."
Halibel swiped Gamuza away to block his bladed arm. She kicked off his body into a backflip, firing a third La Gota upon landing on one knee. The robot was slightly affected by the scalding water, his metal vessel now steaming and warped on his right leg.
"Your techniques are impressive," BG9 said, forming his other arm into a large mini gun from reishi, "But they will be inefficient in defeating me."
Rapid fire quickly rained upon Tia, the Espada using Sonido at her fastest speed to dodge the thousands of reishi bullets. She had never encountered this exact sort of weapon before, but it reminded her of Starrk. She managed to get herself behind the robot, and fired a thin rush of water from the tip of Tiburon. The hybrid barely evaded it, puncturing a large hole through its lower abdomen instead of through his chest. BG9 noted the power behind her small attack seeing as the water had also left a hole in the far wall of the room.
"So my daten was correct," BG9 stated, his the hole in him healing from high-speed regeneration, "You can minimize the liquid volume of your Cascada into a smaller area to increase the speed and impact strength of your attack. I am surprised you did not create a multiple blast technique to strike me."
Tia was surprised the robot knew this. She had only recently mastered her ability to change the shape of Cascada into different variations. Aside from that, the only ones who had seen her train were Nel and the one who supplied her with soldiers to fight.
"Rudbornn…" she muttered. The bull had been watching her and Nel train to inform BG9 of their strategies! He must had been using a recording device to transfer them to the machine or something similar.
The mini-gun dissipated from BG9's arm, the robot now only wielding Gamuza. "However, I have calculated I only have a 4.876549% chance of defeating you in my current state. I recognize your power and will commend you once more, Espada. But I must end our conflict in haste."
"That's enough with the numbers," Tia replied, raising Tiburon and readying a Gran Rey Cero, "This ends now-
She froze up as BG9 raised the Zanpakuto horizontal to himself, his tentacle forming into a palm to press against its blade.
Tia couldn't believe what she was seeing as the robot chanted the release command.
"Praise, Gamuza."
His singular eye began to glow a bright pink as a mass of tentacles started rapidly shifting around his lower body. He was pushed upwards as four legs and a horse-like body formed below him, a single tentacle acting as his tail. Gamuza had formed into a lance, taking over BG9's entire left arm.
"That's… impossible!" Tia stepped back in disbelief. How could a Quincy use Resurrección?! "How did you do this?!"
"Unfortunately," BG9 said, raising his left arm, "You are out of questions to ask. Lanzador Verde. "
The robot's entire arm detached as Gamuza was sent hurtling at Halibel, spinning like a drill. She fired her Gran Rey Cero to block the lance, but it was at too close range. The lance cut right through the blast and broke through the top half of her giant sword and exploded as it hit the opposite wall of the throne room. Huge chunks of debris was thrown down to the floor, squashing many Calaveras who were too slow to dodge. The duel between Grimmjow and Rudbornn was also disrupted, and gave the Sexta a moment to see BG9's stolen form.
"The hell?" Grimmjow cursed, "He looks like Nel!"
The crashing stones were loud enough to wake Nel up. She slowly opened her eyes, and screamed when she realized she was still in Rudbornn's grip. "Let go of Nel, monster!"
With all her might, she bit down on her captor's arm. For a little kid, her chomping power was extremely strong.
"Argh!" the bull shouted in pain, dropping Nel. The child was swiftly picked up by Grimmjow, who held her away from his body with one hand.
"Thank you, kitty cat!" Nel grinned, "Nel likes you lots!"
"Whatever."
Tia's mind was racing, trying to make sense of this. The basic laws of Quincies she had understood had just been shattered along with her weapon. This being was not completely one race if he could use Hollow powers. But how had he gained Nelliel's powers in the first place?
Her ears began ringing. She could feel herself begin to sweat.
No.
No, not now.
She clenched her shaking fist, the same feeling that came when she awoke at night after dreams of her inability to defeat Ywhach haunted her. The dreams of Aizen's betrayal. The dream of… of something she didn't recognize.
The crying. Screaming.
That was the dream that hurt her the most.
She could hear BG9 speaking to her, but his voice was distant, muffled. She shook her head, her vision ceasing to blur as the robot's eye began to glow a bright red.
Oh no.
Realizing what his ability was capable of, Halibel's mind raced to two things.
Grimmjow. Nel.
Save them.
"I must thank you for standing still," BG9 said, the Knowledge prepared to activate once more, "That makes the process much easier."
"Grimmjow!" Tia screamed out, "Don't perform Resurrección! He can-
Tia was cut off as she felt a sudden drop in her reiatsu, her yellow-aura power surging towards the robot. She looked at what remained of her weapon as it began to fall apart into reishi, her bone armor joining it as it assimilated into BG9. Back in her black bodysuit, she crumbled to her knees as Tiburon hit the floor with a clang. Powerless. Empty.
"Impressive," BG9 stated as he absorbed the last bits of Halibel's power, "I was aware this vessel has considerably greater strength than my previous one so it contain knowledge of multiple Resurrección, but to do so without a lag in processing time is considerably surprising. Being composed of multiple Arrancar remains must be a significant part of the equation.."
Down below, Grimmjow was incredibly confused. What the hell was going on? What had that freak done to Tia? "You gotta be kidding me…!"
"You're next," Rudbornn said, as all of the remaining Calaveras formed behind him, "You'll give your power to BG9, then you will die."
If he was understanding things right, that robot thing could steal his greatest ability. And with how many Calaveras were left to fight against – not to mention the BG9 and Rudbornn himself – Grimmjow could not defeat them all without releasing.
"Run, Grimmjow!"
The Sexta looked up at Halibel, who was staggering to her feet, sword in hand. She was at an immense disadvantage, but her resilience wouldn't let her go down so easily. "Get out of here! Keep Nel safe!"
For a moment, Grimmjow thought about defying her. The last thing he wanted to do was take any orders from her.
Dammit, why did she have to be right?
Grimmjow met her eyes and, with a single nod of understanding, tucked Nel to his chest and vanished with Sonido. Rudbornn raised his sword in the direction of the open door, all of the Calaveras running in pursuit of the Espada. "Find them! Bring him and the child back to me!"
Tia shut her eyes tight, sighing heavily as she gripped Tiburon even tighter. BG9 stood before her, a dozen tentacles emerging from his equine body, ready to stab at her.
"A foolish statement," BG9 said, "Your resolve is admirable but misguided. You are no longer necessary to our plans, Tia Halibel. You must now perish."
She couldn't fight back and survive, not in her current state. Retreating was the only option.
There was only one place in mind: the place Nel told her about. She didn't like going to outsiders for help, but Nel trusted him.
And that was good enough reason for Tia to trust them.
"If I have to die to protect them," Tia replied, sheathing her sword, "Then so be it… But not today."
With a click flick of her wrist, a black tear formed in the space beside Tia. A Garganta just large enough for her to fit into quickly tore open, and she fell into the rift.
Not fast enough.
*SHUNK!*
Bleeding from the mouth, Tia looked down where the tentacle had punctured straight through the center of her chest. She fumbled into the Garganta as the portal closed shut and severed BG9's attachment to her. She cried out in intense pain as the tentacle thrashed abut wildly before going completely limp, its mental connection to its owner cut off. She used what little strength she had left to create a floor of reishi below her, or else fall into the endless black void.
There was no time to waste. She could feel herself getting light headed, internal wounds getting worse by the second. She wobbled ahead, gripping her chest as she traveled through the Garganta. Her platforms were weak and nearly unstable as she continued on.
BG9 stood by as the Garganta sealed shut. There was no need to pursue the Espada; even if it was necessary to the plan he could not open one of the portals on his own. One of the trade-offs of being a hybridized individual restricted him from accessing certain abilities such as Descorrer and the forms of Blut, but in time BG9 would gain the knowledge to utilize those powers after heavy modification.
Rudbornn appeared beside him and bowed his head. Exiting his stolen Resurrección form, BG9 addressed his accomplice. "The first phase of our plan was a complete success. We will recapture Nelliel soon enough, and then our secondary target will certainly come to Hueco Mundo."
"Where did Halibel run off to?"
"Irrelevant. Her power is significantly decreased, and she is mortally wounded within the Garganta. Her ability to generate reishi platforms will falter, and she will soon fall into oblivion. The only current obstacles are Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and the Tres Bestias, but my calculations show their chances of victory are 0% without room for error. They are easy variables to eliminate. I will leave that task to you, Rudbornn."
"Very well. And what shall you do in the meanwhile?"
"While I have completely absorbed the entirety of Szayelaporro Grantz's, I must gain more daten on our enemies the Espada had not documented. I will connect myself to the communication terminal that is wired to the Soul Society's central information hub and attempt to access Mayuri Kurotsuchi's recorded daten on the captains of the Gotei 13."
During the time BG9 was regenerating, the Exequias leader had told him of Hueco Mundo's alliance with the Soul Society, and of how they were openly sharing information to create a stronger bond of trust. However, the person involved in managing the technological side of things was not to be trifled with. "I advise against that. Kurotsuchi is a madman; he probably has fatal viruses he has implemented as security measures."
"A reasonable suggestion. My capabilities to evade his detection have a 24.8931% chance of success. The odds of me succeeding without detection are low, but if I am able to gain knowledge on just the singular Bankai we require, our chances of total victory are 100%."
"It is the biggest risk we must take."
"The greatest minds have always taken great risks to gain the proper knowledge to succeed and change how others see the world. I will ensure I can be included in their ranks."
It felt like eternity before she reached her destination. Tia stopped before stepping into the World of the Living, her energy almost gone.
Her mind was a mess of emotions and pain, but she couldn't fall victim to them, especially not now. Hueco Mundo was in danger.
Nel. The Tres Bestias. Even Grimmjow.
She couldn't lose them.
But how could she save them, if she couldn't save herself?
Too weak to stand anymore, Tia's fell forward through the portal. Her face hit cold, hard pavement as she entered the other dimension, a steady stream of rain falling from the sky above. The Garganta closed behind her, leaving her prone on the sidewalk. She lay there, dying, breathing slower and slower by the second.
She could hear footsteps coming her way. Someone was here.
Moaning weakly, she turned her head and saw a pair of feet in clogs. Halibel tried to look up at the stranger, but her eyes fell shut as she finally passed out. The stranger knelt beside her, stroking his chin in deep thought.
"Well," Kisuke Urahara mused, "This is quite unexpected."