Disclaimer: This man does not own Bleach.

Trascender

In the quiet castle of Las Noches, Luders walked down the hallway leading towards the outside. He stepped into the cold, limitless night and watched the crimson moon in the sky. Hearing footsteps in the sand behind him, he turned the see the female Arrancar with the blonde hair, matted to her forehead and neck.

"You... your name is Menoly, am I correct?"

"Yes..."

Nodding, Luders turned away from her, embracing the silence once more. Menoly stood next to him, moon-gazing with him. Before she could speak, Luders interrupted her.

"I know what you are about to ask me... Could you have not joined with your friend?"

"Loly? I thought about that... but you were the one to save me... sorta... you know... even though you lost..."

Luders narrowed his eyes as he stared at her sheepish-looks.

"You are not making me change my mind..."

"Well, you tried to save us... and I would have been dead if you haven't."

"..."

"...So here I am, thanking you for saving me. However, don't take me for a begging and desperate woman... these weeks have been hell, dealing with Steiner and his particular hobby. I won't be so quick to join another man's servitude if it ain't worth it..."

"... Follow me..."

He turned and walked away, not looking to see if she was following, though he knew she would.

"For what? Where are we going?"

"...Anywhere we want to, if you'll follow me..."

Las Noches felt the quaking Reiatsu as it collided within Hueco Mundo. Halibel, Nel, and Grimmjow panicked because they knew whose pressure that belonged to.

"We... are so... fucked!"

"Grimmjow, shut up!"

While Nel and Grimmjow bickered, Halibel dashed towards the eye of storm. She saw Ichigo, followed by the two Quincies, heading towards the palace. Stopping in front of him, she watched as he stormed to her.

"Ichigo... we-"

"Yo!"

Halibel deadpanned when he waved at her and walked directly passed her, the Ishida family sharing the same facial expression. Nel and Grimmjow finally arrived, surprised at the boldness of Ichigo. Waving at them as he passed, he was stopped by Nel's hand on his shoulder.

"Wait, Ichigo! Aren't you mad!?"

Ichigo gazed over his shoulder, the default appearance of his usual self calming Nel down.

"Nope!"

However, the Espada were all blasted to the ground when his Reiatsu flashed. Looking up, Halibel locked eyes with Ichigo, as he looked down upon her, the image of Aizen flashing repeatedly in his place.

I never would've imagined that the power of the Espada I so painstakingly assembled would be less than mine alone.

"I brought you all here... and I can just as easily take you all out. Now tell me... where is the old man you all answer to...?"

Grimmjow slowly stood to his feet as he answered.

"Everywhere..."

Turning his attention to Grimmjow, Ichigo flashed next to him as he gripped his shoulder.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

It was Nel who answered this time.

"The Spirit King... is Hueco Mundo itself. The sand, the moon, the Reishi in the air... even us... are a part of the Spirit King... I know you've heard him before..."

"I don't know what you're..."

Then he remembered the voice that sounded almost like Zangetsu... the one who guided him through the fight against Quilge and the attempt to stop the Vandenreich Invasion.

Can you hear their mourning? Their cries raining down in your world, Ichigo? Don't let your world end, Ichigo...

Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate.

"... You mean-"

I'm always here... Ichigo...

Ichigo didn't even notice the blade going through his chest.

"Kisuke."

Kisuke turned in his chair to face Yoruichi, sitting in his open window. A face of distress and worry was written on her face.

"What is it?"

"It's Ichigo... he's gone back to Hueco Mundo."

"Eventually he would have..."

Before he could turn back to his desk, Yoruichi appeared in front of Kisuke, jaw locked with her hand.

"And the SRDI has reported that his Reiatsu is suddenly dropping. Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai have 'suddenly' gone missing," Yoruichi mentioned as she air-quoted their situation."

"What...? Shit, we gotta get someone down there. Find a team and hurry to Hueco Mundo."

"Got it."

"Lady Yoruichi, I'm glad you picked me for this mission... but why is 'he' with us?" Sui Feng asked as she pointed at the annoyed look on Aizen's face, which would have made Yoruichi laugh if the situation wasn't serious.

"Isn't it obvious, Little Bee? I'm the only one who can open a Garganta besides Urahara. Now stop asking that question."

"Don't call me that!"

Toshiro sighed as he stared at the two of them.

"Why are old people always bickering?"

Kensei and Rose had to agree when they noticed Sui Feng and Aizen going at it like rabid dogs.

"Both of you, shut up! We don't have time for this! Who knows what could have happened to Ichigo by now!?"

The two zipped their mouths shut instantly.

"Now, Aizen, open the Garganta..."

Ichigo collapsed to his knees, the last thing he heard was his name being screamed as he passed out from the loss of blood. Behind him stood a brown-haired figure dressed in a black colonial jacket with matching boots. He wore tan trousers with a white undershirt. Soryu jumped quickly, rifle appearing in her hand.

"Who the hell are you!?"

The man answered no questions as he drew his rapier from his waist, waving it about as he dropped into a battle stance. Halibel stuttered as she recognized the uniform of him, along with Nel backing away.

"This... is one of the Old One's guards..."

"The Old One?"

"Hogyoku... the Old Spirit King... This man is one of the Denego-"

"Hikotsu Taiho!"

The man's eyes narrowed as he dodged the red beam, rolling and catching his balance on a rock. Uryu turned and noticed the giant snake, its entire body covered in red fur. Behind the snake, a redhead with pink fur across his entire upper body smirked at the group.

"Yo! You guys seem to have gotten into a little trouble..."

"Move, Renji. Stop trying to act cool."

Behind Renji was Rukia Kuchiki, her own hair pressed and curled to her hair in a similar style to Byakuya, including his kenseikan clasping a lone bang hanging on her left side.

"Rukia... Renji..."

They turned to the crawling figure of Ichigo, who attempted to stand up. However, he was promptly elbowed back to the ground, courtesy of Rukia.

"Lay back down, you fool. We'll take it from here. Renji!"

"Got it! Hiko-"

He paused as his snake was destroyed, along with his body splattering blood all over the sandy dunes. He collapsed next to Ichigo, unable to move as well. Behind them all, the man stood, his blade outstretched.

"That didn't work this time... You might want to try something new."

Rukia picked up both bodies and flashed back towards the rest of the group. The man turned and faced the rest of the people as he wiped the blood off of his blade.

"Uryu... and Ms. Ishida... I may need your help."

"Don't forget me, Soul Reaper! I'm not gonna let him take my prey!"

Rukia narrowed her eyes at the man who nearly blasted her face away with a Cero more than a year ago.

"Aren't you working for this group? I thought all of you weren't on Ichigo's side?"

Turning to a loud sound next to her, Halibel and Nel stood, blades drawn.

"Are you insinuating that I'm a traitor to Ichigo? After all he's done for me? Nobody calls Nel a traitor!"

"Don't refer to yourself in third person, stupid."

"Shut up, Grimmjow!"

Sighing as the two argue, Rukia drew her blade and held the ribbon that suddenly appeared at the end of her blade. Snapping it off, it wrapped around her shoulders and hung from her body like a scarf.

"Bankai..."

In an area of dimmed light, eight figures stood, all dressed in the similar colonial wardrobe. One lone figure with long, auburn hair and a colonial top with a dress bottom walked to her throne as her Denego stood on either side of her red carpet, swords held up to the air. A feminine voice addressed the warriors.

"It seems... that Ichigo Kurosaki is closer to the Spirit King than we realized..."

The warriors stood silent as they stared to the carpet, where the fight was taking place.

"He's trying to stop the Resurrection. I have to give him his credit for coming so far."

"Tch, credit? For all the luck he's gone through?"

A brutish warrior with a sleeveless jacket and a great axe on his back scoffed as the mistress praised this man. A girl, dressed in a colonial shirt with white pants and a bayonet-rifle on her back, waved the man off as she spoke up for Ichigo.

"He seems capable, that much is certain. You're just scared that he'll kill you."

"Fuck you, stupid broad! I swear if you back-talk me again...!"

"You'll what? Send me back to the kitchen? Good luck with that, Nicholas."

The man named Nicholas growled in anger as he waved his fists at the nonchalant woman. Across from them, a slender male with a cutlass and a privateer hat face-palmed himself at these idiots in front of him. They were both rendered silent as the Reiatsu of the woman shut them up.

"I do not tolerate bickering, Nicholas... Emma. Now... it's time we stormed Las Noches... The gate to my former husband... shall not be released."

She stood and followed towards the gate, her Denego following. She said one last statement to her loyal subjects.

"Sepulto Viresco..."

...And they chanted right back to their royal queen.

"Sepulto Viresco!"

"Bankai..."

Her sword shattered, breaking into a million pieces and covering the area with ice flakes. The wind began to freeze up as her shards flowed around her.

"Dance... Furisode Shiro Fubuki."

The wind began blowing stronger, destroying the ruins around her. Renji, who as still conscious, attempted to stop Rukia.

"You... know... you're not supposed... to use your... Bankai... in the vicinity of... allies."

"My only ally here is Ichigo... so if you wish to live, it would be best to leave the area."

The Denego glanced around at the crystal shards, intrigue on his face.

"This is very similar to your older brother's Bankai..."

"No... my brother's Bankai was designed around precision and overwhelming blades. The danger of Furisode Shiro Fubuki is because of its utmost destructive dances."

The ribbon on her shoulders circled around her as the icicles formed a halo-like formation above her.

"Some no Mai: Tsukishiro."

The man was barely able to dodged the halo as it suddenly appeared under his feet, extending into a pillar towards the heavens. As the man dusted himself off, he addressed his notes of her Bankai.

"I see... your abilities are shared with that ribbon. Like your Shikai, as long as you are touching the ribbon, you can use your abilities from anywhere. And unlike Byakuya's Bankai, yours is a Kido-type, where you can use more abilities..."

"You are correct and incorrect at the same time."

Eyes widened, he was too late to notice the small shard next to his eye.

"You are correct about my abilities and being able to use many of them... but you never made mention of the similarity I shared with my brother..."

The shard exploded like a grenade, sending needle shards all around the field, nicking the man a few times.

"...Each of my shard... is its own blade... as each of them..."

"...is a single Shikai... multiplied by the millions. And here I thought Seiden and his Hitenzakura was one of the scariest Kuchiki's I've met."

Rukia narrowed her eyes as she heard him, the ice wavering along with her emotions.

"You've met older Kuchiki's? Then you are not a human, I presume, though I don't think I've believed you were from the start."

"No... I'm a Hollow..."

"Like an Arrancar?"

"No."

Everyone stood silent as they listened to him, only Halibel truly knowing what he was.

"I have no mask fragment. I'm a pure Hollow."

"How the-?"

"Hollows, all created from the Spirit King, were not monsters. We were human-like from the beginning."

Across the field, Uryu was confused, completely misunderstanding the Denego.

"What is he going on about?"

Halibel filled him in on who the Denego were.

"He's a Denego... one of the original Hollows."

"Original?"

"When Hollows were first created, they shared human-like forms. Their power was great, but they found no way to evolve faster until one Hollow decided to eat a fellow being. From there, many Hollowsollows began eating each other to become stronger. A few Hollows, however, refused to follow such a barbaric movement. Those Hollows became known as the 'Denego' because they denied the standard set for Hollows. Many of them were murdered, so only a few survived."

"So, Hollows had bodies before losing them?"

"We were foolish. As we ate, we grew masks. First they were mere fragments. Then, they covered our faces were Arrancar before we became Hollows, not the other way around. The Denego are the opposite of a Fullbringer: A Hollow with human-like abilities."

"Human-like powers... That's... a Quincy! Isn't it, mother?"

"Most Quincy who survived for longer periods of time... are probably Denego. I wouldn't doubt it if Juhabach was a Denego who acquired a Quincy Cross."

The Denego chuckled as he listened to the many theories about his abilities.

"Denego and Quincy are similar, but we use Reishi in different ways... I prefer to deny that relation."

"Then how do you use it...?"

He grinned and pulled an amulet from beneath his jacket.

"I hope you can hear me, Kurosaki..."

Ichigo, who was lying on the ground in pain, kept his attention on the pendant.

Do you... hate me for that... Ichigo?

"I reject... Sicarius..."

Trivia:

-Good picture I based the Denego from was Evil George Washingto from Assassin's Creed III (Which I've been playing a lot of). Spirit Queen's outfit is from the False King from Demon's Souls.

-Sepulto Viresco means "I Revive from my Burial" in Latin (The Denego use Latin motifs)

-Spirit Queen (The Woman) was the woman speaking to Aizen.

-Denego is Latin for "to deny".

-Denego are earliest Hollows, which were human-like. Instead of a Hollow breaking its mask and becoming Arrancar, the earliest Hollows were beings who ate other Hollows and formed fragments, which eventually became the mask and turned them into the monsters of today. The Denego rejected that cause.

-Denego manipulate Reishi like Quincy, except in a different, soon-to-be revealed way, hence the Spirit Queen is served by them.

-Furisode Shiro Fubuki is Japanese for "Long-Sleeved White Snow Storm". It's an Elemental Kido version of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi. I think since Byakuya is now pretty much confirmed dead, Rukia is going to be groomed to replace him in the Manga.

-Hitenzakura is Japanese for "Cherry Tree Blossom of the Flying Heaven.

-Sicarius is Latin for "Assassin".

-Nevermind about Rukia, seems Byakuya is still alive, along with Zaraki in the Manga. However, he's dead in this one and Zaraki is released, but is still being treated.