Rudbornn had told them the truth.

Not long after he had contacted Grimmjow and the Tres Bestias, four large groups of Calaveras had taken a position around them. Each one stood about two hundred meters away, swords drawn but unmoving. Following the orders they were given, it seemed. Grimmjow fired a single Cero at one of them, but the other clones didn't flinch as the target fell dead. Another simply kicked it aside and took its place. They could not tell how many rows of them there were; the line formations they were in prevented them from seeing how far back their numbers went.

The wait for Rudbornn slogged on. Grimmjow eventually sat down in boredom and starting firing off Bala potshots at the ground in front of the enemy. His attempts to make them flinch were unsuccessful.

The Tres Bestias were much more on-guard. They had circled around Nel, keeping her hidden from the eyes of the horde. All three held their left arm, ready to summon Ayon at a moment's notice if need be.

The slow hour passed, and in the distance they could hear the clanging of swords and footsteps on sand. He was right on time, as punctual as always.

"Get ready," Grimmjow ordered the women, "Watch the soldiers."

"I still say we should let you do the negotiating, Sung-sun," Apacci whispered to the snake, "He'll start a fight."

"He is in charge, Appaci. Not me. Just keep quiet."

Walking in front of his forces, Rudbornn was flanked on both sides by two Calaveras holding the same reishi pistols Grimmjow had found in the trunk. Behind them were the prisoners, hands tied together. Pesche and Dondochakka were kicked down to their knees beside Rudbornn, barrels placed to their oddly shaped heads.

"Take it easy, asshole" Grimmjow said, "We aren't gonna attack. You can have Nel."

Rudbornn drew his Zanpakuto, pointing the tip at Grimmjow. "Drop your weapons on the ground. All of you. No surprises, or they die."

Just as Grimmjow predicted. Feigning resistance for a moment, Grimmjow undid Pantera's sheath from his belt and tossed it to the side. Nodding at the Tres Bestias, they did the same.

"Let go of your arms as well, ladies. Keep your pet at bay."

With their compliance, Rudbornn continued. "Good, good. Now, Nelliel. Walk over to me."

The little child peered at the bull from between Mila Rose's legs. Warily, she stepped between them and towards Rudbornn. She looked back at the women and grinned. "Nel will be okay. Nel promises."

"Hurry up!" Rudbornn barked. He was running out of patience; his desire to spill blood was at its peak.

"Just a second, meanie!" Nel snapped back, "I wanna show kitty cat something cool!"

Frozen for just a moment, the shock from being insulted by the child blinded Rudbornn in rage. "You have five seconds, or I kill these idiots beside me!"

"Don't yell at Nel!" Pesche exclaimed, waving his fist at Rudbornn, "She's sensitive!"

"How did you break your restraints?!"

"Huh? Oh. I untied them."

"So did I!" Dondochakka said with glee, "These guys suck at tying knots."

This wasn't happening. All his careful planning, ruined by these two fools. Raising Arbol, Rudbornn was ready to decapitate the both of them when he heard Nel shout out something strange.

"KA-BOOM!"

She reached into her little green cloak and pulled out Grimmjow's pistol. Nel pointed it at the piece of cloth the Espada had used as a marking and pulled the trigger. The kickback of the gun sent her flying off her feet and into Mila's arms as the reishi bullet struck the hidden grenade.

The explosion was, indeed, a ka-boom. A huge dust cloud erupted from the sand, followed by a minor shockwave that shook the earth beneath everyone's feet. From the blinding debris, two shadows rushed toward Grimmjow. It was a good thing the Espada didn't attack them, or Pesche and Dondochakka would have been dead.

"Nel!" the larger Fraccion ripped the child from Mila's arms, "You're alright!"

"Nel missed you!" Nel hugged the tiki, "Nel's glad you two are okay!"

"And so am I," Grimmjow grinned, Pantera back in his grasp, "Now I can go kill that traitor!"

With the Espada already gone, the Tres Bestias picked their weapons back up for battle. The Calaveras were running towards them from all sides. The sound of their footsteps was like thunder: there had to be thousands in every direction!

"Well, guys," Apacci smirked, grabbing her arm, "You thinkin' what I am?"

Mila returned the smile. "Playtime."

The three women moved to stand in a triangle around Nel and her brothers. Sung-sun peered over her shoulder at them. "Stay right there. This is going to get messy."

Simultaneously, the Tres Bestias gripped their left arms and pulled as they shouted the incantation together.

"QUIMERA PARCA!"

The arms of the three women were tossed into the air, and quickly fused together in a red sphere that grew larger and larger by the second. From within a monster took shape, its hoofed legs soon hitting the ground with a heavy thud. Its snake tail hissed loudly as the giant's fluffy mane exited the creation sphere. It blinked its yellow eyes, looking past its antlered nose before letting out a deafening roar. The approaching soldiers skidded to a halt on all sides, in frightened awe at the chimera.

"Hey Ayon!" Apacci shouted at their pet. It couldn't hear her, but she felt more in control if she spoke to it. "Have fun."

The bloodbath began.

Charging through the east flank, Ayon stomped Calaveras into red stains on the sand, running on all fours and flinging them into the air. The beast opened its great mouth, shoveling live snacks in by the handful. Even the troopers jumping onto its back with Sonido were no good, quickly shaken off and murdered by the snake tail's fangs. It was a one-sided massacre.

The Tres Bestias took in their pet's fun with a sense of pride. Ayon rarely had a chance to play this much. However, they wouldn't be ignored. The Calaveras that had accompanied Rudbornn's arrival were headed towards them.

"Guess we don't get to sit this out!" Mila said, "Devour, Leona!"

With her entering Resurrección, the other two ladies didn't want to be left out.

"Thrust, Cierva!"

"Strangle to death, Anaconda!"

All three of the Tres Bestias now more greatly resembled their animal motifs of lion, stag and snake respectively, growing manes, antlers and a slithering lower torso. They rushed at their opposition, Mila getting the first kills with a spinning swing of her broadsword. Sung-sun easily evaded the enemy blades with her snake-like form, bringing down each one with a single precise stab. Apacci stood the furthest back, firing Ceros into the rear flank, pressing the Calaveras forward towards her deadly partners.

Elsewhere, in the blinding dust storm, Rudbornn's soldiers were blindly cut down without a chance to fight. Grimmjow used the sand as cover as he chased after the bull, his prey jumping around with Sonido to throw him off. It was starting to annoy him. Greatly.

"Stop running, coward!" he roared, cutting his hand to charge a Gran Rey Cero. Hearing a similar charge sound from far behind him, he spun around and fired his attack at it. The two Ceros exploded on impact, throwing more sand into the air. Calaveras continued to swarm him, doing their best to try and keep the Espada occupied.

It wasn't going very well. The soldiers could barely match Grimmjow's speed, evading their slashes with ease and lopping their limbs off at rapid pace. The mindless cutting was getting monotonous: time to test out his newest skill. Sheathing Pantera for a moment, Grimmjow tightened his fingers, a dark blue shadow coloring his arms. He started slashing at the air, up, down, diagonal, black reishi marks left behind where his hands had been.

"Garra de Sombra!"

With his incantation, the reishi cuts shot forward into the dust. Anything in their path was annihilated, as indicated by the numerous screams of death. Grimmjow took a pause as the Calaveras seemingly went on the retreat, and sensed Rudbornn's spiritual pressure rising.

"Grow, Arbol."

The wave of reiatsu from Rudbornn's Resurrección surprised Grimmjow: it was a lot greater than he guessed it would be. The leader of the Exequias truly had made himself much stronger. That release felt equal to Ulquiorra's!

Finally, the dust cloud parted, dispersed by the bull's transformation. His body had risen up, supported by many large roots. Branches with small skulls grew from his back, much bigger and spikier than Grimmjow had remembered them being. Chelute's blade had taken the shape of a lightning bolt, and his horns now curled down around his mask rather than out and up.

"So," Grimmjow said, "You wanna play that game, huh?"

"No games," Rudbornn answered, his weapon beginning to glow, "Not anymore."

Rudbornn threw his weapon straight into the earth towards Grimmjow. The Espada jumped back, expecting an explosion. It phased into the sand instead. A rustling sound followed, Rudbornn's empty sockets glowing gold as a large trunk erupted from the place he had struck. Jaegerjaquez watched it grow tall and burst with numerous branches. In the center of the newly birthed tree appeared a copy of Chelute, glaring down at the Espada.

"The hell?" Grimmjow muttered, drawing Pantera. This was something new. Unexpected.

"Surprised?" the new Rudbornn asked, wielding its own lightning bolt, "My powers have grown considerably. The Calaveras have always been the seeds of my tree, unable to grow to adulthood. But now, I can plant my spiritual pressure directly into the earth and make myself many. This is the true power of Arbol!"

The new copy threw its bolt like the original had, and soon another trunk grew up a dozen meters away. This newer copy continued to speak alongside the other two, all connected by one mind as each new copy planted its seed. "I can create endless copies of myself, an eternal cycle of life. As long as the earth thrives and new life is born, I will always produce the fruits of birth! My burden of creation will overwhelm and destroy you, Espada!"

All at once, the ten copies of Rudbornn charged powerful Ceros at their fingertips. The attacks hurtled towards Grimmjow at once and exploded in a blinding gold light. He did not dodge, softening the impact by crossing his arms over his face. Still, it hurt.

It was time to stop toying around.

"Well, damn," Grimmjow said, tossing his shredded jacket aside, "I underestimated you. You might be some fun after all!

He held Zanpakuto, blade pointed behind him with his claws touching the glowing blade as he clawed down its length.

"Grind, Pantera!"

The following burst of energy alerted the Tres Bestias, momentarily distracting both them and the Calaveras. Rudbornn's release had been alarming: Grimmjow's was nuclear. Wind swirled up in a spiral from where the Espada stood, intertwining like a double helix. The transformed Grimmjow was soon visible, his body encased in a white armor plating. His large ears and whipping tail accompanied his fangs and talons in echoing his panther spirit.

With a toothy grin, Grimmjow disappeared before Rudbornn's eyes. And in an instant, a fist was now lodged in his neck.

"Wha-what?!" the wounded copy coughed. Before he could even see his attacker, his mask was slashed into shreds with a shower of blood. The tree crumbled, its skull fruit dropping to the ground. Grimmjow landed at its falling base, eyeing the other Rudbornn copies.

"See that?" the Espada smirked, "That's gonna be all of you."

The original Rudbornn held both of his palms out wide, sprouting two more planting bolts. "We shall see about that!"

The skulls at Grimmjow's feet suddenly began to glow gold, then just as quickly burst. The Espada dodged them easily, realizing the fruits could now double as Ceros. He rushed towards the main Rudbornn, and was greeted by a living shield of Calaveras.

"Out of my way!" he roared, large blue blades of energy sprouting from his claws, "Desgarron!"

The hovering soldiers were annihilated instantly by the tearing attack, but a second barrier quickly appeared from behind to cover the opening. Grimmjow slashed through that one as well, and the next. All the while, the Rudbornn copies were planting more of themselves into the earth, surrounding the Espada with a forest of opposition. Calaveras grew and fell from their branches, rushing to shield their master from attacks.

Many more ran at the Tres Bestias to replenish their ranks. Some of the Rudbornns began firing Ceros from their branches at Ayon, raining fire upon the beast. The hundreds of cuts from Calaveras were starting to take effect, the monster dripping with blood as it continued its rampage. Chelute took notice of the large gashes on its leg, and fired a Gran Rey Cero to exploit its wound. Ayon tumbled mid-run and roared in pain as its right hoof was blown away.

"Ayon!" Apacci called out, the distraction allowing a Calavera to sneak in and slice her in the arm. She quickly disposed of it after, but the cut was deep. "Argh! You bastard!"

"There's too many!" Mila shouted, her and Sung-sun being pushed back as the soldiers grew in number. Even with Pesche and Dondochakka's extra help, they were clearly overwhelmed.

"Not good!" Pesche cried out, holding Nel to his chest, "We're gonna die!"

"I may not be strong enough to defeat you all one-on-one," the Rudbornns spoke on unison, "But I will keep you at bay until you cannot fight anymore! And when you are exhausted from endless fighting, I will put you all out of your misery!"

Seeing his allies in bad shape, Grimmjow hesitated. If they weren't strong enough to survive, then they should die.

That was what he would usually think.

As much as Rudbornn was pissing him off right now, something in his gut told him to do something that went against his nature. Something weird.

Help them.

He'd been helping those women for a while because Tia told him too, and that pissed him off. Usually he would've killed them by now. He didn't like them, but they weren't horrible to be around. They were… tolerable. Like his old Fracionnes.

"Ah, screw it."

Grimmjow went over the forest of Rudbornns and dove into the Calaveras, shredding them to pieces with Desgarron. He unleashed a fury of kicks and punches upon them, carving himself out a circle. They ran at him from all sides, and dropped like flies. Bodies were piling up around the blood-splattered Espada, the troopers climbing over the dead only to join them.

Eventually, Grimmjow jumped up again and landed in front of the other Arrancar. "Nel! Give me the gun!"

"Sure things" Nel said cheerfully, tossing the weapon to the Espada. Guessing at where else he had planted the reishi grenades, he fired at the ground multiple times until things blew up. Calavera limbs littered the sand in wake of the destruction, but Rudbornn's endless army showed no signs of stopping.

"This is bad," Sung-sun said, gripping a wound on her hand, "He won't stop producing his army unless we take him out!"

A dark shadow appeared over them, as Ayon leaped across the battlefield with a roar. The monster had forgotten about the fodder in favor of Rudbornn's forest, dashing on three limbs towards it.

"Be careful, Ayon!" Mila called out, to no avail. Ayon was met with a living shield, biting through it. Even with the monster just meters away, Rudbornn was calm as ever.

"Stupid creature," a copy said, raising one arm high. From the ground below sprung a twisting mass of roots that wrapped around Ayon. The beast was momentarily restrained by them, but soon broke away using its sheer strength. More roots continued to wrap around it, tightening their grip and sinking into its many cuts. Ayon's thrashing began to slow as Rudbornn's power brought it into submission.

"No!" Apacci cried out. She tried to run towards the pet, but Grimmjow pushed her back.

"Stay!" the Espada ordered with a snarl, "I won't tell you again!"

"We have to retreat!" Mila shouted, "At this rate, we'll be overrun!"

"You can run all you want, but I'm not going anywhere!"

Jaegerjaquez jumped into the sky, his Desgarron claws extending in length by at least a hundred feet. With a roar he slashed down at the earth below, slaughtering throngs of enemies in an instant. He fired Cero after Cero into the crowd, but for every Calavera he killed twenty more dropped from every Rudbornn's branches to replace them. Landing back down in the army's center, he continued to maim the enemy without remorse with no sign of slowing down.

Unfortunately, his allies were not as resilient as him. Grimmjow soon had to return to fend off their opponents, too many of them for the five to handle in their tiring states. It wouldn't be much longer until one of them dropped from exhaustion or worse.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance, Jaegerjaquez," Chelute taunted, "You should never had underestimated-

No.

He sensed it.

A spiritual pressure unlike no other. So high, it was unmistakable as to whom it belonged.

And it was headed this way.

Rudbornn wasn't the only one to sense it.

"Heh," Grimmjow chuckled, "Looks like I'm getting that fight today after all."

"Is that who I think it is?" Apacci asked.

"Who else would it be, you monkey?" Sung-sun retorted, a smile hidden behind her sleeve.

"But where's Tia?" Mila followed, "I can't sense her."

"Look!" Pesche shouted, pointing at the sky, "I see him!"

"I think that's a cloud," Dondochakka corrected, "There he- oh wait, that's a cloud too."

"THERE!" Nel shouted at the top of her lungs, pointing in Rudbornn's direction.

Panicking, Rudbornn's copies began searching the horizon. It was too soon for him to be here! BG9 hadn't even baited him here with Nel yet! Did he know she was in danger?!

He had to alert BG9 before-

"Yo."

The calm greeting sent a shiver through Rudbornn. The original copy turned around to see an orange-haired Shinigami floating behind him, two blades drawn and ready for battle. When had he gotten past his Calavera shield?!

"There's a lot more of you than the last time we met," Ichigo Kurosaki said, "Think I might have to help fix that."

"Kurosaki!" Rudbornn shouted, charging a Gran Rey Cero as fast as he could. Before it was even at half power, his arm fell to the ground below. "Arrgh! You-

His head followed after his arm.

Enraged, the other Rudbornn copies went to fire at Ichigo, but he was already standing with Grimmjow and the others. "Hey, Grimmjow. Been a while, huh?"

"Don't be so friendly," Grimmjow smirked, "I'm kicking your ass after this, just so you know."

"Oh, I bet," Ichigo replied sarcastically, now greeting the others, "How are you all doing?"

"Could be better," Mila said, "Is Tia with you? Is she alright?"

"She's okay. Better than that, actually. She's-

"ITSYGO!"

Kurosaki was suddenly tackled full-force by Nel, head butted in the ribs by her hard mask. The wind was nearly knocked out of him as he stumbled back with her on his chest. "Nel missed you so much, Itsygo! Nel's glad you came!"

"I missed you too," Ichigo smiled, reaching into his shihakusho and pulled out Urahara's present, "Brought you something."

"Ooh!" Nel exclaimed with glee, tearing the gift open. She held the bracelet in two hands, salivating. "Thank you, Itsygo!"

"Want help putting it on?"

"Nope! Nel's good at this part!"

Rolling up her sleeve, the child slapped the bracelet on. It began working in seconds, the small Arrancar floating off of Ichigo in a pink aura before a large pink cloud poofed in her place.

And from it, a full grown Nelliel tu Odelschwanck emerged.

"Aw," Nelliel pouted, looking down at her torn-up clothing, "I really liked my old armor… Thank you so much, Ichigo."

"No problem," the Shinigami said, "Now we just need to get you your other power back."

"You know about that?"

"I know everything. Tia's going after BG9 now while I'm helping you with this guy. If you want to go find her, I don't blame you."

Nel thought about it for a brief second. "…If you're here, that means Tia wants him for herself. If that's the case, she won't need my help. I'd be of more use here, even without Gamuza at full power."

Grimmjow snorted. "She got her ass handed to her last time. How's she gonna beat him with no Resurrección?"

Laughing quietly, Ichigo shrugged. "You'll just have to find out later then, won't you? Right now, we've got to take this guy down."

"Kurosaki!"

Interrupting the reunion, the multiple Rudbornn all began charging Ceros, aimed right at the newcomer. "I cannot allow you to ruin my master's schedule! Once he is here, your defeat is imminent!"

Turning to Rudbornn, Ichigo glared at the army. Grimmjow stood beside him, while Nelliel, the Tres Bestias, Pesche and Dondochakka faced down the forces behind them.

"I'll take out his trunks," Ichigo said to Grimmjow, "You free Ayon and break through the walls he puts up."

"Whatever. As long as you let me kill him."

"Fair enough."

Ichigo put the two blades of Zangetsu together, gathering reiatsu between them. With a powerful upwards swing, he yelled the one word Rudbornn feared to hear him say.

"BANKAI!"

"This is unfortunate."

BG9 had detected Ichigo Kurosaki's arrival to Hueco Mundo in an instant. The logic behind his early arrival was flawed. He had no means of knowing the current situation. The only plausible conclusion was that Tia Halibel had not passed away within the Garganta and arrived in the World of the Living.

But the odds of her survival were 0%. BG9 had dealt her a fatal wound she could not recover from. Had he miscalculated his fatal strike?

Impossible. The calculations were exact, with no room for error.

Regardless, Ichigo Kurosaki needed to be stopped. Rudbornn would fall in due time, robbing BG9 of another vital component to total victory. If it did not claim Tensa Zangestu today, the plan would have to be re-worked from the beginning.

"Forces," BG9 stated, addressing the legion of Calaveras at his flanks, "Converge on the location of high spiritual pressure. Engage Ichigo Kurosaki. Kill all in your way."

The soldiers began their march, passing the robot. They would likely all perish, but BG9 had his contingency plan in place. As long as Rudbornn was still alive, victory could be achieved.

Suddenly, the army stopped moving. BG9 could not sense the figure that had landed in front of it. "Why have you stopped your procession? Continue forward."

"They know better than to do that."

That voice.

Parting through the Calaveras to reach the front, BG9's processing unit faltered momentarily. There was no calculable way this individual should be here. But here she was. Her appearance was different but his analysis of her composition was nearly exact, aside from one abnormality he could, for some reason, access any daten on.

"Tia Halibel?"

The Espada stood, unwavering, arms folded and staring him down with a look of death.

"I do not understand. The odds of your death were 100%. I am without error."

"It doesn't matter," Tia said, "I'm going to give you one chance. Surrender, or die."

"I will not. You should be concerned for your own safety. According to my observation, you do not contain the necessary abilities to successfully defeat me. You will perish if you engage."

Tia smirked. Kisuke was right. The robot could not analyze the Hogyoku power.

"Why are you happy? You have no reason to be so. Your death is imminent."

The Calaveras raised their weapons, aiming their rifles at Tia's head. It seemed BG9 would not heed her warning for mercy.

Good.

Tia's eyes began to glow, yellow reiatsu trailing from her lashes as she floated off the ground. The Hogyoku marking on her womb emitted the same energy, its outline shining bright. Soon her whole body was gleaming, arms outstretch as she concentrated her emotions into her transformation. The shots fired from the soldiers had no effect, reflecting off her reiatsu as she changed form.

White spiky gauntlets sprouted from her wrists and went up her arms, while her right hand was protected by a giant pronged claw. Nails grew into sharp claws, and two horns curved up and around her head into a jagged crown. Her bodysuit vanished and was replaced with a thin reiastu bra, her lower torso forming into dark grey scales. Two flowing skirts hung from her hip, followed by a sinuous shark tail and fin sprouting from her back. The Hogyoku fragment emitted energy from the open space of her womb, pulsating with power.

BG9's processing system was on overdrive, searching for any knowledge on such a transformation. The hybrid analyzed what he was witnessing, but no matter what equations or hypothesis The Knowledge could come up with, it could not comprehend Tia's current state. "This is… illogical! Your power was taken! This does not compute!"

The Espada opened her eyes, a large dagger of pure reiatsu forming in the gauntlet of her right arm. The intense spiritual pressure took the form of Tiburon, the weapon she knew she could wield with perfection. With a single wave of her arm, the entirety of BG9's left flank was cut in two by a lash of reiatsu.

"It shouldn't," Tia replied, "Something as heartless as you will never be granted this power."

Just as quickly as the first time, BG9's remaining soldiers were slain with a single wave of Tia's blade. The robot stood alone now against her, his tentacles forming into the Resurreccións of Gamuza and Tiburon.

"Tia Halibel," BG9 stated, raising Gamuza's lance at her, "You have single handedly altered the course of my operation. You are the primary threat to my victory, and therefore I must eradicate-

The robot felt the immense strike before it could register it. Tia's kick sent him hurtling into the wall of Las Noches, a giant crater forming from the impact. It pulled itself from the wall, falling to one knee as tentacles rushed to fill the open hole in its chest. Halibel was right back where she had started, no sign of having moved at all.

"You're done talking."