Chapter 29: Not a Prisoner, I'm a Free Man

"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Zanpakutō"
"Hollows/Vizard"
"[Reading/listening to a message/letter]"
"{Speaking a different language}"

AN: As a heads up, my pay-tree-on is now up along with the first few posts. Same name as I use here.

-]|[-

Within the 11th Division barracks, Madarame Ikkaku was finalizing his preparations for the coming battle. Which really meant he was enjoying some good sake while he waited. It would only be another hour, maybe less, before they were off to what would hopefully be the greatest battle he'd enjoyed yet. Naturally, that's when someone interrupted him. His former subordinate: Abarai Renji. Putting his jug down, Ikkaku grumbled, "If this isn't to place a bet on who kills the most enemies, I swear Renji…"

The redhead refused to heed the implied warning. He awkwardly adjusted his newest set of Gin Tonbo brand goggles, something that made Ikkaku wonder how he could afford to keep spending so much on the things. "Look, I just don't get why you refuse to at least attempt the Captain's Test," Renji insisted. "We're down four captains and need replacements!"

Ikkaku took another swig before replying, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "First, we're down three captains, not four. That Kurosaki boy replaced Kurotsuchi. Second, I already told you why. I plan to die serving Captain Zaraki; I'd rather be an unseated grunt working under him than a captain."

"But you could at least consider it! Wouldn't working alongside him be just as good?!" Renji demanded, fighting the urge to stomp his foot. Why couldn't he see that the Soul Society's needs outweighed his personal wants? "As for Kurosaki, he's barely a captain given how he's on probation." Under his breath, he muttered, "Still haven't paid him back either."

That earned a sharp bark of laughter. "By all means. If you think you can take the man who fought Unohana, be my guest. And no, because I wouldn't be working alongside Captain Zaraki; I'd be working adjacent to him. Never enjoying the thrill of a glorious battle alongside him against impossible enemies, just vaguely working in the same army. I might as well transfer to the 4th and work as a nurse." The 3rd Seat's eyes became sharper as he demanded, "For that matter, why haven't you taken the Captain's Test? Didn't you say just last month that you'd finally obtained your Bankai?"

"Er, that is to say, I-" That certainly put Renji on the backfoot and far more effectively than reminding him of just who Kurosaki had fought after him. While it was true that he'd finally bested Zabimaru in combat, he also hadn't tried to become a captain. If he were honest with himself, he didn't feel worthy, not unless he could finally best Captain Kuchiki. Though, if the lieutenant was truly honest with himself, he'd admit that he was still barking at the moon without even trying to jump up and grab it. He was still afraid to even step on his captain's shadow.

"Does one need to become a captain once they've obtained Bankai?" A new voice asked, older and more cultured than either of them, who were both proud dogs of the slums. Unnoticed by either of them, they'd been joined by a third party. With short silver hair, barring his thin handlebar mustache, pupil-less gray eyes, and a white jinbaori over his Shihakusho, most would assume Sasakibe Chōjirō to be a captain himself. "Somehow, I was uninformed of that law. I suppose I must become a captain myself then."

While Ikkaku was choking on his sake over the news, Renji gaped and stammered a reply, "You- you have a Bankai, sir? But, for how long? And why aren't you a captain?" He had never even heard a rumor about the First Division lieutenant being so strong.

"How long?" He tilted his head in thought, "Since before Gotei 13 was properly established. As for why I'm not a captain, I do not wish to be. Now come, we'll be departing shortly." With that, he turned to leave.

"Sir!" Ikkaku called out, his sake put away and Hōzukimaru in his left hand. He wasn't very big on formality, but Sasakibe was a lieutenant before most of the current captains were born. "Why did you share that with us?"

Over his shoulder, the older man offered, "Because no one can make you a captain against your will."

-]|[-

In the molten crater where his enemy once stood, Ichigo stared blankly for several seconds. His wrath wasn't exorcized, not entirely. But without an enemy in front of him, he had to acknowledge what had happened. Uryū had died. A single step of Shunpo took him back to where Sado and the others were as he resealed his Zanpakutō, Nemu arriving just after him. Sado in particular looked distraught. "I'm sorry, Ichigo. I wasn't strong enough."

Ichigo shook his head. "No. We all knew what we were getting into. Or at least thought we did." He reached up and put a hand on Sado's shoulder. "It was not your fault." He could tell the taller boy didn't fully believe him, but he looked a little better.

At that moment, Nel crashed into Ichigo's leg and hugged it tightly as she sobbed, "Nel'th not an Ethpada, Itsygo! You believe Nel, right?" Ichigo hunched down and hugged the small child as he quietly reassured her. It helped both of them; Nel because Ichigo didn't think she was lying to him, and Ichigo because it let him focus on something other than his own thoughts.

The rest of the group began arriving, starting with Orihime and Unohana. The young teen saw Uryū's mangled body and gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as tears ran down her face. The captain merely dipped her head briefly before assessing the others for injuries. It was cold perhaps, but it was best to focus on those she could save until she had time to properly concern herself with fallen comrades. Seconds later, Candice arrived as a literal thunderbolt. Seeing Uryū's body once she returned to her human form, she clasped her hands and began praying for him.

Ichigo could sense the last three members of their group (he had completely forgotten about Pesche and Dondochakka) closing in when an announcement rang out throughout Las Noches via Kidō. "Can you hear me, intruders?" Aizen's voice sounded from within the minds of everyone affected by Tosen's casting of Tenteikūra. "First, I'd like to congratulate you for defeating so many of the Espada. Secondly, I'd like to thank you for making it easy to contain you all." The entire strike force jerked up in shock at his words. If Aizen truly had been expecting them, that would mean their preliminary strike was in fact a trap. "Now that you're here, we will begin our invasion of the Living World. And to keep you from following," Aizen trailed off as he snapped his fingers. "I've activated a Kidō that will keep anyone but the Espada from opening a new Garganta. I should thank you, really. The Captains of the Gotei 13 account for almost all of Soul Society's power. With three captains seceding and two more trapped here, their strength is barely above half of what it was." That claim made Unohana raise an eyebrow. Either Aizen was far more ignorant than she thought or he was simply lying to taunt them further. She could name no less than five captain level fighters his words didn't account for. "So now, I will go to destroy Karakura and create the Ōken. Once I have ascended to the throne of heaven, I will return to deal with the rest of you."

As the Kidō cut out, Ichigo furiously resummoned his mask and swiped at the air with a hand charged with Reiryoku. When nothing happened, he swiped again and again until Isane asked, "Ichigo, do you know how to open a Garganta?" If he did, she had to wonder why they needed Urahara to open one for them to reach Hueco Mundo, also where he learned how to do so.

Ichigo let his mask disperse before running a hand through his hair in frustration. "No, but I'd seen it done and thought I might be able to wing it." That explanation was disappointing to the others, but they had to admit it made a certain amount of sense. Ichigo did have a record for just picking up abilities with little to no formal training in them.

A series of loud roars split the air, interrupting any further conversation. From every direction came swarms of Hollows, Adjuchas, and Arrancar. Bambietta, the last to arrive, whistled as she looked at the sheer numbers heading their way. "What're the odds these are the dregs and just here to slow our asses down?"

"Considerable," Unohana agreed. "Nemu, the Espada I fought was a scientist of sorts. His laboratory is approximately five kilometers from here in that direction. See if you can find something to let us open a Garganta to Karakura; take Candice and Isane with you." The trio quickly left in the indicated direction, though Nemu notably glanced at Ichigo for confirmation first. Everyone else quickly formed up into a rough circle with Orihime, Hanatarō, Bambietta, and Nel on the inside. Meanwhile, Ichigo, Unohana, Tatsuki, and the freshly recovered Sado took the outside as the primarily melee fighters.

-]|[-

As the renegade captains, three of the remaining Espada, and their Fraccion entered pre-formed Garganta to Karakura Town, the First Espada headed towards the former battlefield. Lilynette was right; he had to fight if he didn't want to be alone again. Said girl was rushing alongside him, a fierce grin on her face. "About time you finally got fired up, Starrk. I've never seen you so enthusiastic before." She had almost been convinced nothing would break through her other half's indifference.

"I'm not," Starrk denied, "I've just accepted that I don't have a choice." He stared determinedly ahead as he considered what he would have to do. "If the intruders die, we can go help our comrades. I don't have anything against them personally, but there's no other way forward. If we leave before they're dead, they'll just follow us through." With his piece said, the man put his hand atop Lilynette's head and the two instantly vanished as he used Sonido to arrive faster.

When they reached where the invaders were all gathered, they spent a moment taking in the scene from a few dozen meters in the air. The crater that marked where Grimmjow and Nnoitra met their ends was beginning to cool and they saw that Aizen had apparently also set the weaker Arrancar and various Adjuchas upon the humans and Shinigami. The intruders didn't seem to be having much trouble, which wasn't unexpected if Starrk was being honest. He didn't know any of the Hollows below but he could tell that all of them were well below Espada level, dangerous only for their numbers. "What are you gonna do, Starrk?" Lilynette questioned as she looked down at the grand melee. From what she could tell, the humans had placed their ranged and support fighters in the middle of their group with the melee fighters on the outside demolishing any Hollows that got too close. When her counterpart didn't answer, she looked over to see him drawing his katana. A quick flick left a tiny cut on his chin. As a couple drops of blood dripped from the nick, a buzzing blue orb formed in front of Starrk's chin. "You gotta be kidding-"

Lilynette didn't get a chance to finish as the First Espada launched a gran rey cero at the group below them. Rather than stick around to watch the results, she used Sonido to get behind cover as fast as she possibly could. She barely made it behind one of the towers before the blast wave hit. The shockwave rattled her bones even behind cover. When it died down, she peeked to see what was left of the humans only to gape in shock. One of them, Kurosaki she thought his name was, was standing well above everyone else, a Hollow mask on his face and his shield smoking from where it had blocked the attack.

A moment later, Ichigo appeared before Starrk, staring him down behind his mask. "You must be Aizen's strongest Espada," He remarked, his tone analytical. He was glad he had summoned his mask before blocking; that cero would have plowed right through him otherwise. For now, he'd have to trust the others to handle the horde below.

"Indeed. I am Coyote Starrk, the First Espada," Starrk offered. Despite having launched what was ostensibly a sneak attack, he stood at ease before the teenage Shinigami. He was ready to attack or defend at the slightest hint of aggression, but he'd at least hear the boy out.

His shield held in front of him, Ichigo asked, "I'm afraid you're going to have to move aside. I've got an appointment with your boss, you see."

"And if I don't?"

"If you won't move, you'll be moved," As he spoke, Ichigo readied himself. Power gathered inside Eien-ō Tenmai's blade, ready to be unleashed.

Without moving a muscle, Starrk fired a cero at him from his chest then burst forward in a Sonido to slash at him, "Sorry. But I can't let you pass."

-]|[-

Within the Garganta, Halibel and her fraccion walked towards their destination in Karakura Town, the Espada leading the way. They could've gone faster but Aizen had remarked that it wouldn't do for everyone to arrive at different times due to their varying speeds. Some part of her idly wondered if perhaps the ruler of Hueco Mundo just wanted to be dramatic. "Think they have any chance against Starrk?" Mila Rose asked curiously, seemingly just to fill the silence.

"Are you even stupider than you look? It's fricking Starrk!" Apacci mocked, "They don't have a prayer!"

"I was just asking, you brat!"

From behind her sleeve, Sung-sun offered, "But one of them is Kurosaki. Didn't Aizen-sama's intelligence say he was barely able to defeat a Gillian less than half a year ago? Yet he was able to completely overwhelm Nnoitra."

That shut the other two up, but only for a few seconds. "Eh, Nnoitra was strong but he was just an Adjuchas like us," Apacci waved away the argument like a wisp of smoke, "Starrk is a Vasto Lorde like Halibel-sama. He's on an entirely different level."

"That kinda growth is pretty ridiculous though," Mila Rose countered, more to argue against Apacci than anything. "Plus the guy apparently attacked Soul Society because they kidnapped his lover or whatever. We're off to destroy his hometown."

That bit of information stuck in Halibel's mind. As her daughters continued arguing, she couldn't help but dwell on how Kurosaki was clearly the type who'd risk everything for one of his own. It was a trait she emphasized with, admired even. After all, was she not the same when it came to the trio she had taken under her wing? "It's a pity we have to be enemies," The blonde murmured.

-]|[-

As the trio arrived at the laboratory, Candice took in the blood and gore everywhere and couldn't help but exclaim, "Jesus Christ!" In a display that shocked both the other women, she quickly covered her mouth and looked around nervously as she made the sign of the cross. As they looked at her, the Irishwoman defensively said, "What?! I might only go to mass on holidays but you don't take the Lord's name in vain!"

Not knowing what she was talking about, Isane merely shrugged it off before looking around, her brow wrinkled in thought. "Captain must have fought several enemies for there to be this much blood. At least," She paused and muttered to herself for a moment, "Twenty or so, assuming none were giants."

Candice replied, her expression deadpan, "It's a little disturbing you can tell how many died here just by the amount of blood on the ceiling."

"Well, I have been a medic for over eighty years now."

Ignoring Candice's squawk of surprise, Nemu walked towards a large monitor built into one of the walls. Thankfully, the splattered blood was mostly on the sides, though she did have to wipe some off the screen. Even more fortunately, it booted up without issue. "I found his files," The violette announced, only to see everything was labeled with just a string of seemingly random numbers. Even at a glance, she could tell they weren't dates, nor were they in any noticeable order, "…And his organization skills are abysmal. Keep an eye out while I search."

Nemu wasn't the type to grumble, so it was gratifying when Candice glanced at the screen and asked, "What the fuck is that mess? It's like a digital bomb went off inside his computer!" Both other women nodded in agreement; that was a rather apt description. It would take time for anything of worth to be found.

-]|[-

Ichigo pointed a finger at Starrk and chanted, "Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Bakudō #61, Rikujōkōrō!" He had never used Kidō with his mask before. It felt odd, like it was harder to shape his Reiryoku properly. Still, he wouldn't let that distract him. Before the first Kidō had even landed, his pointing finger became an open palm closing into a fist, "Bakudō #63, Sajō Sabaku!" As six rods of light slammed into Starrk from every direction, a trio of golden chains leapt from behind Ichigo and bound the Espada further.

Though he struggled, Starrk found himself unable to move anything but his head. "Is this the part where you kill me?" He asked stoically, showing no hint of concern towards his potential mortality.

However, Ichigo simply turned his back. "I told you before: Move or be moved. You've been moved so now I'm gonna see if Nemu's found a way to get us out of here."

Before he could leave, a blue cero struck him in the back, exploding and sending him flying downwards towards the sands. Even as he fell towards the dunes, another came roaring towards him. Ichigo quickly dodged with Shunpo. To his shock, Starrk was firing at him without even being able to move. Nor did he require a charge time, simply firing cero at him instantly. "I told you before: I can't let you pass, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Though Ichigo dodged each shot, he spotted something more worrying: Starrk was starting to visibly strain against his bonds. "Oh no, you don't. Twenty-two bridges and seven rivers. Golden crown- gah!" A cero collided with the back of his head unexpectedly. It was weaker than Starrk's were, absurdly so even, but it interrupted his chant at just the right moment. Ichigo appeared on the Espada's other side with a Shunpo, allowing him to see who attacked him without turning his back on his opponent. To his surprise, it was the little girl that had arrived with Starrk, glaring angrily at him.

His attention was drawn back to Starrk as the man finally broke free of the Kidō binding him. "You're stronger than expected," He complimented. "I can see why Grimmjow felt you had to be killed immediately."

"I think that was more wanting to prove his superiority," Ichigo corrected as he readied himself.

Starrk nodded his head in concession, "A fair point." He had barely finished his sentence before he seemingly teleported in front of Ichigo, his sword thrusting forward towards Ichigo's chest. The Shinigami blocked with his shield but as he stabbed towards Starrk's gut with his own blade, the Espada fired a trio of cero simultaneously. One each from the tip of his katana and his stomach knocked Ichigo's sword and shield to the side, and another from his rising knee struck him in the crotch right before the limb did. "Either way, I have to take you seriously," came the stern insistence.

-]|[-

The melee on the sands was an old song and dance for Retsu. Facing ludicrously overwhelming numbers was always a matter of balancing time and effort to maximize how many enemies were killed without being overcome yourself. Throwing out large scale attacks was tempting but ran the risk of using up too much Reiryoku when there were other battles to be fought afterwards. But by that same token, trying to conserve too much strength could mean said battles were over before your own was finished. As she decapitated one Arrancar, Retsu grabbed its warhammer of a Zanpakutō, 'Why did it not use resurreccion before engaging?', and threw it into a crowd of Adjuchas, bowling over the ones whom the hammer didn't pass straight through. She fired a quick Shakkahō to finish them off and took a glance at her comrades to see how they were faring.

The ones in the center of their formation were doing as well as could be expected. Orihime was taking potshots at enemies while blocking any incoming attacks with her shields. Hanatarō was hunkered down and keeping Nel close, the young Arrancar looking almost distraught by the violence. By contrast, Bambietta was outright cackling as the German Quincy fired nonstop at every Hollow she could, each Reishi bullet exploding violently on impact. The two melee fighters were a similar study in contrasts. Sado hit hard and wiped out groups of enemies, but Retsu felt he was too stationary and perhaps too liberal with his El Directo as he called it. Meanwhile, Tatsuki was highly mobile but said mobility and her conservativeness with her own area attack risked her being cut off from the rest of the group. "Bakudō #62: Hyapporankan." A single thrown rod split into a hundred and pinned down most of the Hollows and Arrancar closest to the karate practitioner.

Turning back to her section of the horde, Retsu ripped the scythe-like hand off an Adjuchas and stabbed it in the brain with its own appendage. She might instruct the children more after this war was over. But for now, they had to win said war first.

-]|[-

During a lull in their fight, Starrk looked at his katana for a long moment then carelessly let it fall from his fingers, his eyes on Ichigo the entire time. Cautiously, the young man asked, "You're giving up then? What happened to not letting me pass?"

Starrk shook his head. "I'm not. I just decided that if you're going to fight me all out, it's only fair that I do the same."

That comment was completely at odds with the man throwing away his Zanpakutō as far as Ichigo was concerned. "If you're going to do that, you'll need to use resurreccion. Which I'm pretty sure you just threw away."

"I'm afraid you've just been acting under poor information." At some unseen signal, Lilynette used Sonido to quickly (though slowly to their eyes) appear beside her partner. Unlike the other Espada, we are a natural Arrancar." Ichigo's eyebrows raised at the wording of Starrk's statement. "We didn't split into an Arrancar and a Zanpakutō. We split into two separate beings." Starrk placed his hand atop Lilynette's head as he gazed at Ichigo. "Ordinarily, Espada ranked 4th or higher aren't allowed to use our resurreccion within Las Noches, because our power might cause the dome to crumble. But I think Aizen-sama will forgive us if it means stopping you.." His formerly lazy gaze hardened, "Kick about, Los Lobos!"

To compare the eruption of power Starrk let off with any of the previous Arrancar was to compare a worm to the Yamata no Orochi. In his base form, he had already been stronger than Nnoitra's resurreccion. The sheer increase in his Reiatsu caused the ground to shake all around and the remains of Las Noches' dome to break apart. Dimly, Ichigo was reminded of a lesson he once had on volcanic eruptions. They were this high in the air yet he could see the sand beneath them sinking downward. Lilynette disappeared entirely as Starrk transformed. His coat became a double-breasted vest under an open jacket lined with gray fur and his loose white pants and sandals changed into tight black pants and fur-lined boots. An eyepatch appeared on his face, similar to the one covering Lilynette's own eye. A pair of ribbon bandoliers emerged from his back and connected to his upper arms. Finally, a pair of ornamental pistols formed in his hands. Though visually all that changed was his clothing, the man's power had skyrocketed, belying just how much more dangerous this new form was.

But Starrk didn't give Ichigo an opportunity to admire his new form for long. Pointing his right-hand pistol at his enemy, he calmly said, "Cero Metralleta." A score of ceros formed in front of the pistol before they and countless more fired all at once. Ichigo raised his shield and poured his Reiryoku into it, hoping to weather the attack. Several struck Eien-ō Tenmai's shield and armor, and for a time it seemed his defense would hold. But with a horrible screech of tortured metal a crack formed in his shield at almost the exact same time his right sabaton was blown off. With the ceros not letting up, Ichigo switched his focus from blocking to evading and used Shunpo to move all over their aerial battlefield. While he took care to never put those below in the line of fire, his strategy still left a massive amount of space to work with. Yet Starrk calmly kept firing without strain or hesitation, easily keeping track of Ichigo's movements.

Ichigo moved to come in from his adversary's left side while summoning five Yūrei no Heishi, two with him and three on Starrk's other side. Starrk replied by raising his left-hand pistol and firing at both groups simultaneously. It quickly became apparent that the left-hand pistol fired ceros even faster than his right-hand one could but it seemed to be weaker. Whereas the ones on Starrk's right basically evaporated, the pair beside Ichigo blocked the attack long enough for him to dodge and fire his own attack. "Tenka-Ichiken!" Unlike his usual wave of Reiryoku, Ichigo kept his blast focused in a tight beam. The dark purple energy shot forward like a bullet, only to find one of Starrk's pistols waiting for it. This time, he fired a single cero and the blue blast quickly overwhelmed Ichigo's own attack. The teen barely had time to dodge to the side, getting clipped for his trouble and sent spiraling until he regained his bearings.

Between his Tenka-Ichiken being completely outclassed and worry of what would happen if he tried to sacrifice his defense with Eikō no Yari, Ichigo could only think of a single thing to say, "Ah, shit."

"I'm afraid so," Starrk agreed, "Normally, I'd offer to let you run, but I can't afford you following me to Karakura."

To Ichigo's shock, Lilynette's voice sounded from one of the pistols. "Stop delaying and just finish him already, Starrk!" Frowning in annoyance, the Espada roughly smacked the back of his gun, where the hammer would be on an ordinary pistol. Again, Lilynette called out, this time sounding less impatient and more indignant and outraged, "Damnit, that's my ass, Starrk! You know damn well that's my ass!"

Ignoring his other half, Starrk looked resolutely at Ichigo and remarked, "However, she is right. I should end this." His pistols glowed with power before they evaporated. Starrk's bandoliers glowed with the same energy and gave off flickers of blue Reiryoku. From each flicker grew a light steel blue wolf with red eyes and fur that flickered and waved like flames. Within seconds, Ichigo was staring down dozens of them as they formed up behind the First Espada. "Here we go, Starrk," The Espada muttered.

Several of the wolves raced forward towards Ichigo. He fired off another Tenka-Ichiken as a series of small needle-like beams to hit as many as possible. The ones struck all exploded but one slipped through. As it got too close, Ichigo sliced through it with Eien-ō Tenmai's sword, but it seemed their flame-like appearance wasn't just aesthetics. The blade glided right through and the wolf simply reformed around it. Before Ichigo could try to hit it with Tenka-Ichiken, its neck extended and it bit into his upper left arm. The wolf glowed for a moment before detonating with more force than even Starrk's cero had.

-]|[-

Within Szayel's laboratory, Candice carefully sniped another stray Hollow, injuring it but leaving it alive for the moment. A second later, one of Isane's crystals stabbed through its skull, ending its life and sending it on to Soul Society. They hadn't faced many so far but they were nonetheless annoying. Still, she would stick to the Shinigami's proposed strategy until it became unfeasible. "Thank you, Candice-san," Isane offered with a grateful smile on her face.

'Okay, so maybe she is cute after all. Doesn't mean I wanna fuck her… much,' Candice quietly thought. Out loud, she said, "No problem. I'd been thinking about what you Shinigami used to tell us. You know, how our powers destroy souls. And what happened to Uryū and his insistence on proving his worth as Quincy." That earned her a somber nod. Back when Uryū had used that bait months ago, she hadn't really thought about it as she shot Hollow after Hollow. But between his death and meeting friendly Hollows like Nel, Candice found herself being forced to re-evaluate some very old beliefs. "I'm not going to hold back if I'm facing another Arrancar or serious enemy. But for small fries like these… For all I know, that thing was someone's grandmother once. I can't speak for other Quincy, but I'll leave it to you Shinigami."

-]|[-

Ichigo knew he was in trouble. He knew it from the moment Starrk used his (their?) resurreccion. He wasn't landing any hits and was struggling just to keep up as his armor took more and more damage. He'd only lost a couple pieces so far but each broken or cracked fragment weakened his defenses and left him less able to take an attack. Starrk had apparently decided to actually fight alongside his wolfpack and created a pair of swords out of Reishi. While he hated to keep making the comparison, the First Espada completely outclassed Nnoitra's ability to dual wield. Though his injuries were fairly minor so far, Ichigo couldn't help but wonder if Starrk was lying about trying to end their fight. He was certain there had been an opening Starrk could've easily taken when he sliced off his right pauldron, yet he hadn't. 'It's almost like he's waiting for some- Oh, shit.' Ichigo realized the wolves had been barely pressing him for the last minute just as Starrk disengaged and vanished in a single Sonido, reappearing nearly a kilometer away.

Suddenly, he was surrounded by wolves on all sides. A pair of wolves bit into Ichigo's shield, forcing him to abandon it as they detonated, destroying that piece of armor. With his now free hand he formed a rod of energy and threw it towards part of the oncoming pack as he cried out, "Bakudō 62, Hyapporankan!" The first few wolves were struck by the barrage of rods, only to detonate explosively and take out the rest of the attack. Behind his mask, Ichigo bared his teeth in frustration as the pack converged upon him. He filled his sword with power as the beasts bit into every piece of him they could reach, from his arms and legs to his remaining pauldron and even one of his mask's horns. The Shinigami shouted, "Tenka-" But the wolves exploded before he could finish.

The blast was even larger than the one he had killed Nnoitra and Grimmjow with. Everyone for kilometers had to abandon their fights and hunker down as the shockwave impacted them, rolling over the whole of Las Noches like a tidal wave. The ground shook as though in an earthquake and what was left of Las Noches' roof was completely disintegrated along with any nearby structure. Kilometers away, the outer walls cracked and fractured. Outside the city-sized palace, Hollows around Hueco Mundo looked up as a burning cloud of fire, rock, and sand burst high into the eternal night sky.

When the explosion finally died down and the dust began to settle, a tremendous crater of molten glass remained dozens of meters below the battle. The smoke and dust blew away in a gentle breeze, revealing Ichigo's form to Starrk. His armor was gone entirely and he was hunched over bonelessly. If any of his shihakusho remained, it was invisible against his charred black and bloody skin. The boy's left arm was gone as was his right leg from midthigh down. Ichigo remained hanging in the air for only a moment before his body fell out of the air.

-]|[-

Inside a world of green skies and floating islands, a once great castle lay in ruins. The previously shining fortress looked as though it had been sieged for months on end. Walls were scorched and pockmarked, banners were burnt, and the portcullis was smashed to pieces. One of the towers gave in to the damage to its walls and collapsed, falling over and taking part of the curtain wall with it.

The interior was in no better shape. The throne was cleaved in two and the tapestries were shredded. Even the dungeon was heavily damaged, its torches extinguished and its cell doors crumbling. Beneath even the dungeon was the oubliette, a bell-shaped cell that was only accessible by the trapdoor at the top of the room. Inside that pitch black room, a pair of yellow eyes opened. Their unseen owner bared her teeth in a vicious grin before her mirth could be contained no more. "O~hohoho! OHHHHHHH-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!" Demented laughter carried up through the depths as the trapdoor was blown off its hinges and the sky above darkened to a malevolent purple as the floating islands burned down to their bedrock.

-]|[-

AN: You think Starrk proved why he's number one? Seriously, dude was so strong that his presence killed other Hollows even after he split into Lilynette Gingerbuck and Coyote Starrk. Yes, perhaps somewhat frustrating to some, Ichigo still got beaten and his Hollow is taking over. Unlike Zangetsu, Tirana has no interest in helping him. As stated in Extra Vows and implied in this story, she's been biding her time until she could take his body for her own.

We also got some character development from Candice. Considering her canon portrayal largely amounts to "Slut" combined with "Leeroy Jenkins!", seeing her actually want to step back from fighting Hollows is quite a leap. But her time in Hueco Mundo has been quite the wakeup call. It's one thing to intellectually know most Hollows are decent people who were corrupted; it's another to meet a Hollow that's an adorable and friendly kindergartener and know that not only could your powers erase her from existence, but you might well have done similar before. On a lighter note, Candice is one of those "Holiday Catholics", the ones who go to church on certain holidays but otherwise largely don't make it part of their lives.

Next time on Vow of the King: The only thing that hits harder than Truck-kun is puberty.