I have all my reasons not to feel

I'm numb as rigor mortis

Scared by monkey faces

Drowned in shark fins

But I don't feel like feeling

I don't feel like feeling

I don't feel like feeling

Feeling like you

Trunks landed on his feet while Nnoitra continued to wrench in agony. Blood squirted from the wound and painted the sand beneath them crimson.

A grin widened across his face. "What's wrong? I thought you had the toughest Hierro out of all the Espada. But here I am, cutting through it like butter."

"Cocky little bastard!" he yelled. "That was a sneaky move!"

"Sneaky? Well, I guess if you consider I learned it from a waste of space like you, then sure, call it sneaky."

"You piece of shit! I'll cut that arrogant tongue right out of your mouth!"

"Come on, I don't have all day. Heal yourself and show me your full power before I lose my patience."

Nnoitra growled and balled up his fists. The flow of blood stopped, and within seconds, new skin formed over the gash. Save for the tear in his clothing, it looked as if the injury had never existed.

Nnoitra glared at Trunks with wide, bloodshot eyes. He panted through his teeth and stretched his blade. "Your head is mine."

Yellow spiritual pressure flowed from his being and extended to his Zanpakuto. Nnoitra raised his blade to the sky and shouted, "Pray, Santa Teresa!"

Spiritual energy from his Zanpakuto gathered in the space between his blade, then fired multiple beams that flew past Trunks. A typhoon of sand surrounded Nnoitra, and once it cleared, he revealed his new transformation.

He emerged with a black shell covering his body, save for his chest and abdomen. Spikes protruded from his kneecaps, and a long, curved blade arched from his forearms. The eyepatch on his left eye disappeared, and the sclera of his right eye shifted to purple. He had two horns of yellow and black spiritual pressure on the sides of his head, and four scythes made of spiritual pressure came from his back.

Nnoitra grinned, then he stepped back with his blades raised. "Now, let's begin."

Trunks' facial expression did not change, but he lifted his hand and motioned for Nnoitra to come forth. With his Sonido, Nnoitra appeared beside Trunks and swung his arm upward to slice Trunks' face. Trunks dodged the blade to the outside, but Nnoitra thrust his arm downward to stab his neck. After Trunks escaped into the air, the Espada chased him down and unleashed a relentless assault. He avoided all the attacks, but a scythe that protruded from above Nnoitra's shoulder heaved down at his head. A swipe with Zangetsu parried the attack, but when another scythe rushed to his abdomen, he dashed backward to avoid it.

Trunks grinned. "That's all? Please tell me there's something else up your sleeve."

"That's a lot of cocky dribble from someone who can't stop running," Nnoitra said.

"I haven't even broken a sweat yet. You got a little stronger, and you grew four more scythes on your back. You still only have a Cero to counter me if I attack you from a distance. Even if I fought you at a close range, you don't even have the speed to scratch me. You're disappointing."

Veins bulged from Nnoitra's forehead. "You goddamn Saiyan. How dare you mock me!"

"I'm just telling the truth. There's no way you can beat me."

Nnoitra stuck out his tongue and drove the blade on his forearm across it. After blood raced from his mouth and into the air, a bright yellow ball formed at the tip of his tongue.

"Aaaaahh!" A Gran Rey Cero shot out and distorted the surrounding space. Trunks continued to grin as the attack burst on impact. Nnoitra panted and gazed at the cloud of smoke shrouding the area where his enemy floated.

"Are your ears not working?!" Trunks called out.

Nnoitra gasped. "What? B-but how? I hit you!"

Trunks emerged above his foe with no scratches or tears in his clothing. "Or are you just that dense?" He punched Nnoitra in the side of his head, sending him face-first into the ground below. Once he lifted himself to his knees, Nnoitra tilted his head upward to eyes of disgust.

Trunks extended an open hand. "Get up, or I'll put you down for good."

Goten flew west of his friend toward the energy signal that detected. In the distance, an old man sat on what appeared to be a white throne. From the description given to him, it had to be Barragan. "Well, here goes nothing." He dropped and landed several meters from the seated man.

The old man narrowed his eyes. "You dare keep me waiting for this long?"

"If you're in such a rush to get the shit kicked out of you, then you should've gotten off your ass and found me."

"Foolish boy." Barragan gripped the arm of his chair and shattered the throne. "You have neither the skill set nor the experience to face me in battle. I will disintegrate your bones and make you the dust that floats through this castle."

"Blah, blah, blah. Talk is cheap, old man."

The two stepped back to lunge at one another. Before they engaged, however, Goten wanted to pick his brain a bit more.. "Let me ask you something. I heard you turned on Aizen right before you died, so why are you working for him again if you hate him?"

"I indeed have a deep disdain for Aizen. However, if he can complete his goal, he has promised me the full reign of Hueco Mundo once more. No one, especially not a naïve brat, will get in my way."

"The name's Goten. Being as ancient as you are, it must be harder to remember things. Don't worry though, it'll set in after your brain bounces around your skull a few times."

Goten lunged forward and sped to Barragan's, then spun a hook kick at his head. Before Goten's boot brushed his face, Barragan used his Sonido to teleport behind him. Barragan reached his arm out to grab Goten, but he turned batted the arm away. Barragan slipped his counter punch and launched a fist to his ribcage. A push off Barragan's arm propelled Goten into the air, where he flipped and twisted into a roundhouse kick toward his foe's back.

Once again, Barragan dodged with his Sonido and appeared above Goten with his hand extended to his head. Goten dashed away, creating distance for the two to plot their next moves.

Something wasn't right. Some sort of sphere of influence surrounded Barragan and slowed down Goten's attacks. It must've been a foot radius, maybe even less. Had he not studied the intel reports before he arrived, his fight would've ended much sooner.

Barragan closed the distance between, then threw a roundhouse kick to Goten's torso. Goten dove over his leg and landed on his hands. Before he sprung to his feet, however, Barragan snatched him by the ankle and lifted him.

"Now watch closely," he said. "Observe your bones wither into nothingness." Seconds passed, but Goten bore no pained expression, no agonizing scream, and no change in his bone structure.

"Um, my leg feels fine. Did you forget to turn it on or something?"

"What?! But… how is your bone still intact?!"

After a quick smirk, Goten gritted his teeth together. "Kaioken!"

His body enveloped itself in a vicious red aura. He broke free from Barragan's grip, and after he fell back onto his hands, Goten pushed himself upward to kick Barragan in the jaw. He then flipped forward and slammed the Espada over the head. An elbow in Barragan's mouth launched him back-first into the sand.

He sat up and rubbed blood from his lips. "Well, I guess you aren't as foolish as you let on." Once he rose to his feet, his large ax, Grand Caida, appeared in his hand. "Regardless, your death is imminent."

Goten drew his sword and powered down from Kaioken, only to replace it with Super Saiyan 2. The two of them disappeared and resumed their clash across the desert.

In the Soul Society, the Hueco Mundo bound group Goten and Trunks in their impressive early showings. However, astonishment surrounded Goten and how he negated Barragan's abilities, especially from Soi Fon.

"How is that possible?" she asked. "He shouldn't even be standing."

Hitsugaya turned toward her. "Before his Resurreciòn, Barragan rapidly ages whatever he touches. Goten theorized that if he emitted enough energy at the point of contact, Barragan's touch wouldn't affect him. He baited him, and when Barragan dropped his guard, Goten used a technique called the Kaioken to boost his speed and bypass his time dilation field, rendering both of his abilities useless in one exchange."

Soi Fon clenched her fist. Dammit, that's brilliant. He's handling all of this so well, while I looked like a fool facing him.

"This is all thanks to you, Captain," he said. "All the data you gathered helped him formulate these strategies."

Though Goten impressed his viewers with his battle prowess, Toshiro held onto his concerns. What happened when there was no plan? What if his second release form was unpredictable, or if Aizen was too much to handle? Goten, I know you have no problem with taking risks, but please, be careful.

Shock waves dispersed sand each time their blades collided. High above the ground, Barragan rushed at Goten and bore his ax down on him. Goten parried Barragan's weapon with his Zanpakuto. The brief opening allowed him to slice Barragan's chest, then followed with an energy push. Once he pursued, however, a Cero blasted in his direction. Goten put his hands over his forehead and fired a Masenko to counter. The Masenko pushed the Cero back and swallowed Barragan whole.

Goten remained the air while his foe plummeted to the floor. Bruises and cuts lined Barragan's face, and the blood across his chest dripped onto his white uniform.

Barragan's glare shot into his eyes. "Damn you, Saiyan! You dare try to humiliate me?!"

"I already told you, old man. My name is Goten."

"Your name will fade away with your flesh and bones shortly." Barragan reversed his grip on Grand Caida. "Rot, Arrogante!"

Black and purple spiritual pressure enveloped Barragan's body. Even Goten's poise couldn't stop the spread of chills across his skin.

Well, this is it. I just hope I get to walk out of this one with all my appendages.

The dark spiritual pressure gave way to a brighter, fuchsia-colored aura. His face withered to bone, but the holes in his eyes glowed with spiritual pressure. The crown of bone expanded and turned into gold. Four bone tusks emerged from his neck, all covered with red spiritual pressure at their tips. A black fur coat draped from his back and legs, and blade-like ornaments fastened to his hip with large gold chains crossing between them.

He sported gold bracelets around his bony wrists, and his skeletal right arm was gold plated. Fuchsia-colored spiritual pressure streamed from his torso, while ribs floated in front of his hollow body. His skeletal fingers gripped a new Grand Caida, which now had gold plating in the center of the ax, complemented by a large gemstone that glowed red.

"Well, that's… colorful," Goten said. "I won't lie, he looks pretty stylish." Goten chuckled and yelled down to the Espada below. "Hey, Barragan! If you quit now, you could always start a modeling career. Why be the King of Hueco Mundo when you can go out and be a fashion icon, right?"

A thick, black mist developed around Barragan and shot out towards Goten. He dashed to the ground and raced across the dunes, changing directions as soon as his foot touched the ground, but he still could not escape the deadly miasma known as Respira.

Shit, I gotta shake this somehow-

Goten lowered his foot down to pivot, but his leg fell farther than it should have. He glanced down and saw that the sand beneath him caved in. Figuring that Barragan used Respira to decay the sand from underneath his feet, he jumped up to avoid it. However, maroon pillars of light emerged around him. Once Barragan slammed his ax into the sand, the spirit energy that surround Goten detonated.

As dust enveloped the area, Goten darted out of the smoke and flew far away from his enemy. He didn't expect that attack, but it was time to test Respira's range.

After a few seconds, the mist halted to pursuit. Goten stopped and turned back toward his enemy. If he had to approximate the distance at which the mist stopped, he estimated it to be two football fields away. Now that he figured out the range, he could test the strength.

Goten formed a large energy ball in his hand and flung it past the Respira and down to Barragan. The miasma disappeared and returned to shield Barragan from the oncoming blast. However, before it struck, the blast split into two and aimed for Barragan's sides. Once the balls approached, his Respira retracted to his body and expanded in all directions to decay the energy.

It retracts fast, and it's omnidirectional. Goten sighed. Fantastic. Before he thought up another plan, Barragan appeared behind him. With widened eyes, he swiveled his body around. Oh yeah, Sonido. Fuck!

Barragan released his Respira, but Goten projected his aura to defend himself. Although he repelled the mist for a few seconds, it ate its way through and prompted Goten to retreat. With Respira inching closer, he found himself with limited options.

"Masenko, ha!" He blasted his yellow beam, but the mist decayed his energy faster than Goten released it. As Respira crept closer towards his hands, Goten abandoned his attack and fled to the ground. "Jeez. It's almost like he's trying to kill me or something-"

From the edge of his peripheral vision, he found one end of his knotted blue obi rotted upward to his body. He gasped and whipped out his sword. With the piece of the garment closest to the knot pinched, he sliced it off.

Once he found no other signs of Respira, an enormous sigh left his mouth. "Phew. That was a close one. Guess I better get serious."

He powered up to Pseudo Blue, then raised his Zanpakuto above his head. "Reign Over the Frosted Heavens, Hyorinmaru!" His Zanpakuto transformed into its Shikai form, and Goten stepped back to fight.

"You truly are a fool," Barragan said. "Do you believe you can challenge me without a Bankai?"

"Of course I do," Goten said. "This is more than enough to destroy you."

Outside of the castle, opposite of where Trunks and Goten entered, Gohan exchanged solemn gazes with Tier Halibel. Though the collar of her coat protected half of her face, hesitation rested in her eyes. There may have been room for negotiation.

"Listen, if Aizen's told you anything about me, then you know I'm not one to look for a fight," Gohan said.

"Neither am I," Halibel said. "I prefer to avoid combat, if possible."

Gohan smiled and loosened his posture. "That's good to hear. I know Aizen betrayed you before. Right now, we can make him pay for all he's done. If we team up, we can- "

"Make no mistake, I will not side with my enemy."

"But why? Why would you still serve someone that killed you on a whim? Don't you see that you're just a pawn in his game?"

"I am a soldier in Lord Aizen's army. He disposed of me because I could not prove my value to him. I cannot and will not fail him again, and if that requires me to defeat you, then so be it."

Gohan sighed, then slid into his fighting stance. "Well, at least I tried. I was hoping we could see eye to eye, but I guess I'll have to take you down to get to Aizen."

Halibel wrapped her finger around a hole on her Zanpakuto's guard. "Historically, your overconfidence has been your downfall."

A grin grew across his face. "Sure, but with all the training I've gone through, I guess you can say I'm more self-assured."

After he spent months to rebuild his body and surpass his limitations, Gohan figured that he'd still onto his contempt. However, he exuded more composure than ever. She didn't hold his family captive, but she stood in the path to the one that did.

Using her Sonido, she teleported beside Gohan, yanked her sword out of its sheath, and grabbed the hilt. Gohan snatched her forearm before it hurled down, then pulled her into a back fist on her cheek. His boot pressed into her stomach in the stomach and caused her to soar backward. However, Halibel regained her bearings and lunged forward with a flurry of sword strikes. With grace, Gohan slipped past each stroke before he kicked her legs from under her. Halibel fell onto her palms and propelled herself into the sky.

Yellow spiritual pressure formed around Halibel's blade. "Ola Azul!" Her blade thrust forward and shot an energy projectile at Gohan.

Gohan batted Halibel's attack back at her. Although she dodged her Ola Azul, she gasped when he retaliated with a large, yellow energy beam. She only had enough time to cross her arms and block.

Once the explosion faded, the night sky exposed all of her damage. Scratches and bruises painted her now bare forearms, and a sizeable gap in her coat revealed the Hollow mask that made up her mouth. Halibel dropped her guard and held out her Zanpakuto with an inverted grip. Gohan stared up at her with unwavered determination.

"Answer me this," Halibel said. "I don't sense any malice in your attacks. Aren't you here to exact your revenge on me for what happened on your planet?"

"It's just like you said: you're a soldier, and soldiers only do what they're told. I'd rather take my revenge on the person giving orders, not the person following them."

"Very well." Halibel tightened her grip on her hilt. Her body radiated with yellow spiritual pressure. "Hunt, Tiburòn."

A giant wave of heart-shaped water surged from her back before it collapsed on her. Halibel's power increased at a rapid rate, but his countenance remained unchanged. The water burst and rained down to the ground below, revealing the Third Espada's Segunda Etapa form.

Halibel's Hollow mask vanished, and lightning-like markings ran down her sides to compliment her eyes bright blue. Her hair turned white, with several braids that draped down to her knees. Two black and white, jagged structures protruded from the sides of her head. Lightning-like spiritual pressure covered her breasts and neck.

Her left arm gained a black and gray gauntlet from her wrist to her elbow. Halibel's right arm sported the same structure, but her hand disappeared into a sword-like mass of spiritual pressure, surrounded by a gray, floating hilt with three bone-like arrows extending outward, forming the sword.

Both arms also jutted a gray and white structure from them that resembled waves: a smaller one on her left arm that stretched from the underside of her wrist to her elbow, and a larger one on her right hand that extended to her shoulder. She now bore a shark's fin on her back and two gray and white fabrics hung down her waist, while a long tail extended from behind her. Thin, black armor covered both of her legs, and rock-like pauldrons fixed onto her kneecaps. Her calves bore small gray wings.

Halibel lifted her Zanpakuto to Gohan. A mass of pressurized water developed at the tip of her sword. "La Gota," she murmured, firing a large water projectile downward.

He sidestepped, only for the attack to brush past his shirt. Several more masses of water rained down from above and forced him to dash away. The pressurized water remained hot on his tail, but he needed to counter. To close the distance, he spun and darted toward her, but much to his surprise, Halibel appeared in front of him. Knuckles smashed into his cheekbone. A slash hurled down at his neck and forced Gohan to jump away. However, on the upswing, her sword glowed. Halibel launched a wide Cero, illuminating the dark atmosphere of the Hollow world.

Gohan tumbled downward with ripped clothing. He dropped the hands that protected his face, only to find her blade a few inches in away from his chest. He only had time to jolt.

"This is where you end," Halibel said. "Cascada."

A torrent of water shot engulfed him before he hit the sand. The massive amounts of high-pressure water flooded the ground below and created a sea of murky water. Halibel stayed in the air for a minute, then turned to Las Noches.

A fierce energy signal emerged from underneath the water. Halibel's eyes widened as she turned to see the water part and reveal Gohan. He rose to confront her once more.

"That wasn't too bad." He stretched his neck from side to side and rotated his arms. "But how about I kick things up a notch?"

Gohan clenched his fists and let off a yell to draw out more of his power. Halibel watched in bewilderment as Gohan's power shot to an outstanding level. "I'm ready now. Go ahead and make your move."

Her Sonido allowed her to speed behind him. Without turning, Gohan backhanded her in her nose and kicked in her stomach. As she hunched over, Gohan clasped his hands together and slammed her over the head, sending her flying towards the ground. He pursued as she fell, but Halibel recovered and swung a wide Cero at the Saiyan. Before it touched him, he shot two fingers to his forehead and teleported behind her.

Halibel cried out when he kicked her in the back launched her into the air. He teleported above her, and with a fist dug into her abdomen, she crashed down into the sand below. She struggled to stand up as blood dripped down from her nose.

"It's over, Halibel," he said. "I don't want to kill you, but if you can't concede, then I'll have no choice."

She steadied herself and stood tall. "As long as I fight for Lord Aizen, I will never concede."

"As you wish." Gohan brought cupped hands to his waist to prepare his ultimate attack. "Kaaaa, meeee, haaaa, meeee…"

A glowing blue energy ball formed between his two palms, and before Gohan unleashed his blast, Halibel forced her spiritual pressure into Tiburòn.

Apacci, Sung-Sun, Mila Rose, Lord Aizen… forgive me.

Multiple energy levels in the distance caught Gohan's attention. He swiveled his head, but caught wind of a large, red Cero that sped toward him. He dashed out of the way in time, and as the energy dissipated from his hands, he dropped his head. Three Arrancar landed next to Halibel. Gohan inferred they were her Fracciòn: Emilou Apacci, Cyan Sung-Sun, and Franceska Mila Rose. They surrounded their leader, already transformed into their Resurreciòn states.

"Master Halibel, are you alright?" Mila Rose asked.

Halibel wiped her nose, then glared at her subordinates. "You disobeyed my orders."

"I tried to get them to stop," Sung-Sun said, with the sleeve of her coat concealing her mouth. "But they were too headstrong to listen to me."

"Shut it, Sung-Sun!" Apacci shouted. "We all agreed on this together."

"Hmph, I only said yes because you two threatened me if I refused."

"We did nothing of the sort," Mila Rose said.

"What the hell?!" Apacci said. "That's a load of horse-"

"Enough!" Halibel yelled. Her Fracciòn jolted and ceased their squabble. "I will face him alone. The three of you need to leave."

"Master, please," Mila Rose said. "Let us fight with you."

Apacci chimed in. "Yeah, there's no way he can take us all on at once." Her fiery gaze dampened with sadness. "We… we don't want to lose you again."

Halibel paused for a moment, then returned her eyes to Gohan. "If this is what it will take to beat him, then I suppose we mus. But be cautious. Even for the four of us, this won't be easy."

Mila Rose and Apacci grinned, and four Arrancar fixed their attention to the Saiyan in the sky.

A grin curled onto Gohan's lips as he floated to the ground. "Looks like you guys got your act together."

Apacci growled and shot a finger at him. "Just you wait, jackass! You're gonna pay for what you did to Master Halibel. I'll make you wish you never even woke up today."

He raised his eyebrows. Jackass? I'm not the one shouting and calling people names. With his fists raised, readied himself for the assault. "Four against one, huh? Whatever happened to a fair fight?"

"This is war," Mila Rose said. "Who dictates what is fair?"

"That's a valid point. Well, ladies first."

The four Arrancar charged Gohan and circled him. He kicked Appaci away and used an energy push to repel Sung-Sun, but Mila Rose grabbed his arm long enough for Halibel to land a knee strike on his ribcage. Gohan winced in pain, but grabbed Mila Rose and hurled her into Halibel's chest. He had no time to pursue them, however, as the two other Fracciòn appeared before him and continued to attack. Gohan countered them, landing an elbow on Appaci and followed with a kick to Sung-Sun.

Halibel appeared behind Gohan, but when he spun around, a sharp fist struck his liver. Once his body folded over, Halibel stabbed downward to his spine. Gohan reacted in time to catch the sword with both hands. However, Mila Rose crashed her fist into cheek, and Apacci's drop kick from above sent him careening away. Gohan's back slid into the sand, but he pushed himself onto his feet. The Arrancar landed, and once again, Gohan found himself surrounded.

"Told ya," Apacci said. "You're not good enough to handle Master Halibel and the Tres Bestias. You might as well count down the minutes before we bury you."

Dammit. This isn't what I was hoping for, but… it's what I trained for. Gohan grinned and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth onto his hand. "Rolling over and dying isn't my style. By the way, I hope that's not the best you can do. My six-year-old hits harder than that."

"Asshole! I'll rip your face off!"

He dashed towards their leader, attempting to take the offensive in a grim situation.

A/N: There was a lot of (unnecessary) detail put into the new Espada forms, I know, but if my illustration doesn't help that much, you can always look up 'CFYOW (Insert Espada name)' and the image there should paint a better picture than I did