Chapter Text

Hueco Mundo is an unchanging land of desolation. Despite two wars having been waged in the dimension less than 3 years apart, the dark sky still hung like an umbrella and its white sands still covered the landscape. Countless minor Hollows still hunted each other across its endless expanse, many unaware that they were living in a time of peace under new leadership.

The takeover by the Wandenreich seemed like it had occurred centuries ago, when it had only been 10 years since their fall. Barely any trace of their presence remained. Debris of small outposts from the hunting parties were covered by piles of sand, flags once flowing high ripped down and used as cloaks for Arrancars that wandered the harsh world. The only structure left was the impressive Las Noches, the former castle of Sosuke Aizen, its gigantic dome a beacon for any Arrancar wishing to serve under the last remaining Espadas. Here, they would be subservient but protected. There was no need to incite war anymore.

A statement one found illogical.

He could feel him disappear, even from within the depths of Las Noche’s deepest levels where he lay hidden for the past decade. His Majesty, Lord Ywhach, the savior of the Quincy race, the one who would restart the world in his image, had bestowed upon him a portion of his own soul. Any Quincy with an inkling of his blood left within them could feel his presence. Ten years ago, he had used his great power of The Almighty to target the future, where he would destroy his enemies in their happiest moment. Exactly who or what Ywhach was trying to eliminate did not matter, for at this moment the last trace of his power had simply vanished.

Lord Ywhach had been conquered. His vision of the future would not come to be.

With this, it was time for the Letzte Aufgabe* to commence. All of the calculations had led to this. It was time to reactivate.

The rebirth was easy. With a hiss from his hibernation pod, he took his first steps in his new body with no hesitation at all. He examined his hidden quarters, his singular red optic scanning the dark room for any abnormality before grabbing a cloak hanging from the wall. He walked to the opposite wall, placing his hand into it and then his body. He eventually passed through the convincing barrier illusion and into the large green hallway.

No alarms sounded: excellent. The Hollows above could not sense him still. Reaching into his cloak, he pulled out a small device and pressed the singular button on it. Somewhere in the castle, his ally’s own pager responded.

And thus, the true Quincy victory was ready to begin.

“Will you yield?”

The throne room of Las Noches was a wreck. Once pristine pillars lie on the floor, having been blasted by small Ceros. Splatters of blood were dotted across the tile floor, as well as some of the spectators who unknowingly stood in the splash zone. They didn’t seem to mind, as this event only took place once a year.

Standing in the center of the large staircase leading up to the two ruling seats of Hueco Mundo was a tan blonde woman, wielding a hollowed-out sword. Her three ponytails were draped over her shoulders, her black leather bodysuit unzipped and exposing her bony armored chest. A grim, toothed mask covered her mouth, half of it hanging off from a recent attack in her duel. A bold number 3 tattoo sat on her right breast, a reminder of her former rank in an obsolete army.

She was Tia Halibel, the Shark Queen of Hueco Mundo, formerly the Tres Espada in Sosuke Aizen’s army.

Her piercing green eyes glared down at her opponent on the floor below, the blue-haired man wobbling to his feet. He glared up at her with a snarl gripping his own blade tightly. “Like hell I will!”

Grimmjow Jaegerjaques. The former Sexta Espada, perhaps the most bloodthirsty of all of Halibel’s former comrades, with a desire to be the strongest. A nuisance most of the time, but a powerful one. In the years since Ywhach’s defeat, Grimmjow had kept a shaky relationship with Halibel. Some years ago he began his first open challenges towards her position as leader, with Halibel agreeing to humor him as long as they were not life-or-death battles. No Resurrección, either. A flat contest of skill. Each time she had beaten him down, just to the point of knocking him unconscious, and Grimmjow would always come back to prove his strength again without fail. This time was going just about as well as the last ones did.

A medic foolishly ran to Grimmjow, prepared to heal his lacerated arm. The panther did not take kindly to this, and he swung at her with his Zanpakuto.

“Back off!” he shouted, ready to kill her if she even took another step his way, “This isn’t your fight to interfere in!”

“That wound is quite deep, Grimmjow!” a voice from behind Halibel called out, “Just submit and allow her to heal you!”

The concerned party was Nelliel tu Odelschwanck, Halibel’s equal as Tres Espada. Once cast out from the Espada by the machinations of the deceased Quinto Espdada Nnoitra Gilga, the green-haired woman had been transformed into a child-like form during the Arrancar War. During the war against the Wandenreich, she was now able to hold her true adult form through a bracelet given to her by Kisuke Urahara, the only man whose intellect matched (or even surpassed) their old leader’s. She and Halibel had reached an agreement to co-rule Hueco Mundo, each holding different responsibilities based on their personalities.

Nel was the voice. Tia was the blade.

“Quiet, Neliel!” Grimmjow snapped back, “I’m not done yet!”

“Do not strain yourself!” Nel answered, “There is always next year!”

Standing beside Nel, three women snickered. The Tres Bestias were Halibel’s Fracciones, loyal subordinates and her personal guards. Emilou Apacci the stag, Franceska Mila Rose the lion and Cyan Sung-Sun the anaconda, were rarely apart from each other but constantly quarreled. One of the few things they could agree on was that Grimmjow was a fool for challenging their master Halibel.

“Yeah, right!” Appaci said loudly, so Grimmjow could hear, “How many years has it been already? Maybe 6th times the charm! Ha-ha!”

“Don’t mock me, you dumb bitch!” Grimmjow roared, setting his wrath towards her. He attempted to use Sonido to reach Appaci and teach her a lesson, but Halibel would have none of it. Nobody attacked her subordinates. Not anymore.

She caught Grimmjow by the face before he could react, then slammed his head into the hard floor. A spray of dust and cement flew into the air as Halibel kicked the beaten Sexta onto his back.

“Now, we are done,” Tia said, sheathing her sword.

Grunting, Grimmjow watched her walk away as the medic re-approached him. He was battered and bruised, his deep cut the only harsh wound on him. During the fight he had nearly crossed the line, stabbing at Tia’s head with his sword. He managed to cut through her Hollow mask and into her face, which drew a vicious warning slash from the woman that would turn the brief fight in her favor.

“Dammit…” he exasperated, closing his eyes as the healing process began. Shameful.

Halibel appeared at the top of the staircase, and was approached by her subordinates.

“Well done, Miss Halibel” Sung-Sun said, “You did even better than last year.”

“Got that right,” Mila Rose added, smirking at Halibel, “Want us to show Grimmy out?”

“He’s capable of leaving himself,” Halibel replied, removing the broken part of her mask from her face. She wiped the blood from her mouth, and then snapped off the other side of her mask. Painful, but better than having her mask resemble Grimmjow’s. “He’ll be back in a few days once he’s done licking his wounds. Like always.”

Nel placed a hand on Tia’s shoulder, smiling. “You do have to admire his tenacity, right? Maybe one day we can give him a spot without him resorting to violence.”

“Doubtful,” Tia said coldly. Hell freezing over was more likely to happen than Grimmjow not resorting to violence. “We should get going. They’ll be calling us soon.”

“Oh, right!” Nel exclaimed, following after Tia, “I almost forgot that was today! I wonder who it will be this time?”

“Anyone but Kurotsuchi, I hope.”

Following the battle against Tokinada Tsunayashiro in the Valley of Screams, Tia and Neliel had agreed to work more closely with the Soul Society, in something of a neutral alliance. As long as the Soul Society did not interfere in Hueco Mundo, the Arrancar would not cause any trouble in the World of the Living. Along with this, the two parties would share updates with each other about occurrences in their world, as well as attempting to create friendly relationships with some of the Captains of the Gotei 13. Each call would come from a different division, randomly selected. That was Nel’s suggestion.

Halibel let Neliel do the majority of the talking, as she was naturally chatty. Actually making friends was a mixed bag. While bonds with Isane Koketsu and Rukia Kuchiki were made, other Captains were less cooperative. Sui Feng was strictly business, Mayuri Kurotsuchi was… something, and Kenpachi Zaraki didn’t really understand why he had to talk with them in the first place. Calls with him were usually very brief and non-productive, and eventually devolved into him talking about whose ass he kicked that day before hanging up.

It felt pointless to Halibel. Even if some sort of problem would arise, it wasn’t like the Shinigami needed their help anymore. They had people like Ichigo Kurosaki and Zaraki on their side. This inclusion felt like pity, almost. And Halibel did not take too kindly to that. She didn’t need them to think she was weaker than she knew they already thought she was. Having their Head Captain see her being dragged out of the Warwhelt once free of her imprisonment was already enough of a blow to her.

There were many things she was trying to leave behind. After many years, Tia had finally expunged her wardrobe of her old Espada attire, replacing them with her current attire given to her by Nel. They were “gifts” from her friend Urahara, whom Halibel believed was just a pervert who wanted to ogle her curvy body. Regardless of any ulterior motive, she was glad to have left behind those remnants of betrayal. One she had been too blind to see coming.

Just another one on the list of failures.

“Are you okay?”

Halibel snapped out of her thoughts as Nel’s voice. She hadn’t realized she was staring at the wall silently, with her ally trying to catch her attention for a whole minute or so. “…I am fine.”

“That doesn’t sound too convincing, Tia. Is it about Grimmjow breaking your mask?”

Tia felt her face, where her mask used to sit. She had broken it off so nonchalantly, but now it missing did feel a bit off. “…No. I’m not that worried about my appearance.”

“Then it is something else.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“Tia,” Nel’s voice was firm, looking Halibel in the eyes. Rarely did she act so serious. “I know when something is bothering you. You get quiet.”

“Aren’t I usually quiet in general?”

“Yes, but there’s ‘Ooh, I’m so cool’ quiet and ‘Bleh, I’m not happy’ quiet.”

That got a smirk out of Halibel. Her co-ruler had a way of making her usually stoic-self show a bit of emotion. “If you say so.”

“We can talk about it later, if you want. You’re my friend, Tia. You can tell me anything.”

Friend.

Even with her Fracciones, Halibel did not use that term. She cared for them, but she didn’t really know them: what their favorite hobbies were, their personal feelings. With Nel, it was more of a one-way street. She knew about Nel’s struggles and feelings about others; the other Tres Espada had no issues talking openly about herself. She had even invited Tia to join her and her eccentric Fracciones, Pesche and Dondochakka, for their game nights numerous times. Of course, she refused. Not because she disliked Nel. Tia was actually fond of her company at times. Things like ‘friendship’ and ‘being open’ weren’t her thing.

“Maybe, Neliel. Our allies are trying to patch through.”

“Oh! Whoops!” Nel quickly pressed a button on the monitor in front of them, and a large holographic screen projected before them. On it were two figures; one wearing a large hat and pink kimono, the other donning face paint and a very wide head ornament.

Halibel raised an eyebrow. Two captains was odd; one being the Head Captain and the other the Head of Research and Development was even more of a surprise.

“Hello there, ladies,” Shunsui Kyoraku greeted with a warm smile, “How are things today?”

“Head Captain Kyoraku!” Neliel grinned back, “It’s been so long since we’ve seen you. Everything has been going well since the last session with Captain Yadomaru.”

“Ah, my Lisa,” Kyoraku sighed, “What a woman. Just as beautiful as you two.”

Halibel snorted. Always the flirt, the Head Captain was.

Laughing, Nel directed her attention to the other Captain on call. He seemed quite agitated by his superior’s behavior, more focused on the tablet in his hand. “Hello, Captain Kurotsuchi. I didn’t mean to ignore you.”

“Hmph. Your apology is irrelevant. We have something very important to discuss, and I’d rather my time not be wasted with your friendly banter.”

“It must be something urgent if you’re both contacting us.”

Shunsui nodded. “Yeah, I’d say it is. I’ll leave it to Kurotsuchi here to go into the details. He’s better at explaining the science mumbo-jumbo jargon than I am”

The scientist moved in front of the Head Captain, eyeing the two Espada. “It really is not that complicated, Head Captain, but I will keep it less detailed so all three of your less-scientifically accustomed minds can understand.”

Mayuri’s way of weaving passive aggressive insults into any conversation was without flaw.

“Approximately three days ago, an unexpected appearance of Ywhach’s power occurred within the Seireitei in the West 55 district.”

“What?” Halibel interjected, finally joining the conversation, “Impossible.”

“Clearly not,” Mayuri continued, “But what was more interesting was what followed. As his power began to swell in size, it suddenly vanished with no trace. I assume this must be tied to Ichigo Kurosaki having defeated him those ten years ago. I concluded that this trace of his ability was sent into the future before Ichigo landed the killing blow on Ywhach, and with his demise it could no longer function.”

“But that isn’t all, is it?” Tia asked.

“No, of course not. Less than 24 after the power vanished, a Shinigami scout within Karakura Town spotted a Garganta open in the sky. One individual Arrancar exited it. Twenty minutes later, without any sign of violence, his spiritual pressure disappeared. The scout did a thorough investigation of where he had went, but there was nothing abnormal to be found.”

Tia and Nel shared a look. This was news to them. Any travel between the World of the Living and Hueco Mundo was being monitored by Chelute Rudbornn, the bull-masked leader of the Exequias squad. He had mentioned nothing to either of them.

“Luckily they took an image of that individual for documentation,” Mayuri said, projecting an image from his tablet, “Take a good look at the symbol on the individual’s robes. I know you recognize it.”

The two women didn’t recognize the yellow-and blue haired Arrancar himself, but the five-pointed cross he wore was one they knew all too well.

“That’s a Wandenreich cloak,” Nel said, “Why would that Arrancar wear one of those nowadays? The last of them who sided with the Quincies revoked their status as part of their forces long ago.”

“Not many reasons,” Tia answered, “Perhaps it was all he could find to wear. But even then, any of those cloaks should not be in the good condition his is in. He must have taken care of it out of pride, hoping to wear it again someday.”

“Precisely,” Mayuri nodded, zooming in on the Arrancar’s face, “We cannot identify this individual in any of the records you provided us on living Arrancars. And with his apparent ties to the Wandenreich, this is a matter that affects both Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society. We do not want another Quincy uprising to begin after these many years of peace.”

Head Captain Kyoraku stepped back into frame, waving the scientist off. “Very true, very true. We’d like to send a scouting party to Hueco Mundo, to check things out. Captain Iba and his Lieutenant Sentaro Kotsubaki are ready to-

“Not necessary.”

Kyorkau was taken by surprise at Halibel’s quick decline. “Really? I’m not trying to force it upon you, if that’s what you are thinking.”

“This Wandenreich sympathizer is one of our people, and a matter for us to deal with. We will punish him as we see fit, according to our standards. Once we eradicate any of his possible allies we will report back to you if there is anything more sinister to his actions. If not, then this whole thing is nothing for the Soul Society to worry about. I can assure you that.”

There was a firm tone in Tia’s voice; Nel didn’t like it. Too much of the old her was showing through.

Shunsui smirked, shaking his head. “If you say so, Miss Halibel. I trust you will deal with this matter quickly then. Remember, if things go wrong you can always contact us. That’s what friends are for, you know. Stay safe, you two.”

“Goodbye, Head Captain,” Nel smiled, ending the call. Her happy expression faded as she turned to Tia, who was getting ready to leave. “You didn’t need to be so aggressive there.”

“Really?” Tia hissed, slamming her fist into the wall. A large web-like crack formed upon impact. “They wanted to send help because they don’t think we can handle Quincies on our own. They look down on us. Pity us.”

“You know that isn’t true,” Nel stood up, “We might not have the number of soldiers they do, but that is why they want to assist us in the case of a larger enemy. Captain Kyoraku respects us as equals. As friends.”

Tia flinched.

“Stop calling them our-“

She was interrupted by the beeping of her communicator. It was Rudbornn. How convenient.

“Lord Halibel,” Rudbornn addressed the Espada, urgency in his voice, “We have a situation.”

“Is that so?”

“One of my scouting units have reported and engaged with a rogue individual 500 kilometers west of Las Noches. He is acting aggressively and killing my Calaveras when they try to restrain him. They say he is wearing the attire of a Quincy loyalist.”

Tia looked at Neliel, both thinking the same thing. Events were falling into place quickly. Almost too quickly.

“Is he alone?”

“Yes, they say he might be Adjuchas level. Not overly strong, but the Quincy attire is alarming. I figured you may want to see this one personally.”

“You’d be right.” Halibel silenced the communicator, and headed for the door.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Nel asked, though she knew the answer.

“I’ll take the Tres Bestias with me. I want you to go to Rudbornn and interrogate him about that Garganta incident. Don’t hold back, but don’t kill him.”

“You know I don’t use violence unless I have to.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Translations

Letzte Aufgabe: "Final Task"