Disclaimer: Bleach and the Inheritance Cycle are not mine.

Chapter 1: The Last Stand

The vicinity of Las Noches was silent. The only sound that could be heard were from the occasional sandstorms that occurred a few miles away every ten minutes.

Toushirou Hitsugaya knelt behind a tall sand dune and glanced at his battle-worn companions with a worried expression.

Shunsui Kyouraku was grim and serious. He had been like that ever since Jyushirou Ukitake and Nanao Ise had died fighting alongside the Captain-Commader Yamamoto and the human Yasutora Sado.

Byakuya Kuchiki was as impassive as ever – except his usual regal appearance was replaced by dirt, ragged clothes and a scarred face illustrating months of harsh battles. The gruesome death of his sister by the hands of an illusion of his grandfather a year ago nearly rendered him catatonic. Only his sheer will kept him from spiralling into the deep end.

Kisuke Urahara had replaced his green and black attire with the Shinigami uniform when Aizen destroyed his shop. Tessai Tsukabishi and the two human children living with him did not make it. He kept his hat, though, and the shadows hiding his eyes, combined with the solemn frown gave him mysterious appearance – even more so than before.

Yoruichi Shihouin was as beautiful as ever. She was also wearing her old Onmitsukidou uniform. Her once long, purple hair now only reached her chin. The Primera Espada had burnt off the majority of the length during a particularly nasty fight only a few months ago.

Shinji Hirako, the last of the Vizards, was looking at Las Noches. Ever since the last battle in the Seireitei, when most of the Vizards had perished, something behind his experienced eyes snapped. Nowadays, he always had that broken look about him.

The war had taken its toll on everyone.

Toushirou was just better at hiding it. He could not hide the physical scars, but he sure as hell could suppress the mental ones. Rangiku Matsumoto getting shredded to pieces by the second Tercera Espada; Momo Hinamori being stabbed through the heart – again – by Aizen; Ichigo Kurosaki dying by the hands of Coyote Starrk and Aizen; the entire Zero Division falling after an epic battle in the Seireitei…

And who the hell knew what happened to Orihime Inoue?

Five months ago, back when most of the remaining Shinigami against Aizen were still scattered throughout the globe, Unohana, Abarai, Sado, Inoue and Toushirou launched an attack on Las Noches, intending to reject the Hougyoku from existence. They fought through the small fry left guarding the place – the stronger ones were out in the Living World causing havoc – and reached Aizen's throne room. During an intense fight with Aizen, Inoue tried to use her powers. Toushirou couldn't clearly remember what happened next – he was busy fending off a few of the weaker Arrancars – but he did see Inoue and the Hougyoku glowing bright yellow... before Inoue exploded into a million shards of white light. Some of the white light was absorbed into Toushirou's soul, as well as Unohana's, Abarai's and Sado's.

The remaining four escaped Las Noches after that – but they suspected Aizen had let them go deliberately.

Unohana discovered that Inoue's abilities had transferred over to her – except hers took on a different form. Little manta rays danced around her Zanpakutou, healing the damaged parts of the blade. The manta rays' powers didn't seem as strong as Inoue's, but it was better than nothing.

Toushirou, Abarai and Sado, with a little experimentation, found that they could also summon the fairies, albeit less effectively than Unohana. When Abarai tried to heal his injuries, he ended up rejecting the existence of his left arm.

It was not pretty.

Toushirou and Sado did not dare practice on themselves after that.

"Is everyone clear on the plan?" Kyouraku muttered.

"We'll distract Aizen while Shirou-chan over there looks for an opportunity to use those rejecting powers he got from Orihime-chan to erase the Hougyoku – and possibly Aizen – from existence," Urahara replied calmly.

After spending months in the company of the former Captain, the embarrassing nicknames didn't bother Toushirou anymore. Well, much. It reminded him of Hinamori, and he really would prefer to not remember her death right now – not when they were doing something as vital as this –

"Not much of a plan," Shihouin noted.

"It's all we've got," Kyouraku said, tilting the straw hat that somehow survived everything that happened. His pink kimono, sadly (or not), did not make it.

"The guards have passed," Kuchiki said quietly, interrupting their conversation. "We have half an hour."

The former Captains rose from their hiding spot and flash stepped towards Las Noches. All of them knew that this was their last chance – they could not mess this up.

Because if they messed up...

There would be no one left to fight against Aizen.

"Aizen's straight ahead!" Hirako yelled, slicing an Arrancar's mask in half. He backed against the crimson-stained white walls and released his Shikai. "Go! I'll distract these ones."

Shihouin hesitated. "Shinji – "

"Go, Shihouin!"

"Let's go," Toushirou said, pulling her along.

Shihouin followed the rest of the party. Toushirou heard her send a whispered prayer to the Soul King (although he might not stay as so for long) for Hirako's safety. It was probably the last time any of them would ever see him.

The group of five reached the end of the hallway where a set of large double doors separated them from their enemy. Toushirou could feel the waves of twisted spiritual pressure from the inside – no doubt the Espada were also waiting inside along with Aizen.

Urahara held out his left hand and calmly said, "Hadou #91: Senjyu Kouten Taihou."

Toushirou cursed and covered his face with his arms. The others did the same.

Spears of violet-white light formed in front of Urahara's hand and converged on the door. It slammed against the thick door and exploded. Slabs of marble flew in all directions, some hitting the neighbouring walls and shattering into smaller chunks, some simply disintegrating to dust.

"Overkill," Shihouin commented dryly.

"The door was unlocked," Toushirou added.

Urahara simply grinned.

Through the clouds of dust, the bastard sat on his throne with a smug smile and an army of Arrancars standing at attention at his feet. "Ah… I've been expecting you."

Kyouraku tightened his grip on Katen Kyoukotsu. "Stop being clichéd and let's get this over with." He disappeared in a flash step and reappeared amidst the Arrancars. A second later, twenty or so white-clad enemies fell to the ground, their torsos separated from their legs.

"Damn it," Toushirou muttered. Since when was Kyouraku more impulsive than him? He quickly released his Shikai and jumped into the mess, engaging a male Arrancar with exceptionally big hands. Already, Urahara was using high-leveled Kidou. Sensing incoming fireballs behind him, Toushirou quickly ducked as a powerful Souren Soukatsui shot past his head and singed a few centimetres of his hair. The Kidou spell hit a cluster of weak Arrancars and reduced them to ashes. Urahara may be a genius, but the man wouldn't know the meaning of "Don't hit your allies, bastard!" if it bit him in the arse.

"I'm going to gut you like a fish and take your Zanpakutou as my trophy," the big-handed Arrancar snarled.

"No," Toushirou disagreed. He whipped the chain around the Arrancar's body and let the silver sickle dig into his sides.

The Arrancar started swearing. "You little bast – "

Toushirou tugged on Hyourinmaru. Rivulets of icy spiritual power raced down the chain and froze his enemy in a mini-glacier. The former Captain yanked the chains, causing the ice to shatter. Bits of Arrancar inside lumps of ice scattered around the room.

He felt a smug smile coming on –

"No!" a voice yelled. The blade of a short Zanpakutou clashed against Hyourinmaru. His half-formed smile disappeared. A willowy woman with short green hair and a forehead of bone glared at him with murderous rage. "You will pay for that, brat."

He narrowed his eyes. His sandaled feet took a step back.

"Slither, Víbora." The blade of her Zanpakutou split apart and became limp. It shifted and morphed, turning green and yellow and forming red eyes and sharp fangs.

The Arrancar lashed her whip of snakes at Toushirou and watched with satisfaction as some of the snakes' fangs grazed his arm when he tried to dodge. "Even if you survive this fight, you will not live for long. The poison will take your life in three days. It has no cure and – " She wasn't able to finish her sentence. She was too busy staring at the gaping hole in her chest.

"You talk too much," Toushirou said coldly, lowering his hand from the Kidou spell he just shot. He ignored the throbbing grazes in his arm and fought his way to the main battle. Kyouraku could take care of the minor distractions. Toushirou's attention needed to be on Aizen.

Urahara, Kuchiki, and Shihouin were already there, fighting the brown-haired traitor three-on-one – and they were losing.

Benihime and Senbonzakura were attacking Aizen in waves of red and pink. Shihouin was nearly invisible, flash stepping all over the place, trying to get to Aizen's back.

Toushirou jumped at a stealthy Arrancar sneaking up behind Kuchiki and froze him into a chuck of ice. While he distracted three weak Arrancars, he examined the room from the corner of his eye.

Urahara was still using Benihime's Shikai – he wouldn't dare use his Bankai with Shihouin and Kuchiki around. Kuchiki had just released his Bankai, and the blades of pink practically swallowed the red of Benihime's attacks. Shihouin was still running around, except this time she had a strangely-shaped dagger in hand.

Kyouraku was off in the other side of the room. With his Bankai on full power, he managed to hold his own against half of the gathered Arrancars and three of the Espada.

Speaking of which…

Where were the rest of them?

"Stomp, Elefante!" One of the three he was fighting now sported an elephant-like nose longer than his own body and a stupidly large mace in his hand.

Toushirou jumped out of the way as the mace swung down. It hit the floor, creating an impressive crater. Fortunately, the crater was very, very big. The damage reached underneath the three Arrancars. The floor crumbled and creaked for a moment before giving up and crumbling onto the level below – taking the three with it.

"Idiots," he muttered.

"Idiots indeed," Urahara agreed, suddenly appearing right next to him. "But as much as I would love to discuss the idiocy of our enemies, there is one non-idiotic enemy over there and you need to keep your eye on him."

"They were trying to attack – "

"Nuh-uh, Shirou-chan – "

"Don't call me that."

" – I think you're lying." Urahara's eye glittered mischievously.

"What are you – ?" He stopped himself. He knew better than to challenge Urahara into a verbal contest. At least, not while in the middle of a battle for the world.

"Well, now that that's settled…" The scientist lazily held out a hand and sent a Hadou #1: Shou at Aizen. Needless to say, it did nothing to distract the former Fifth Division Captain. In fact, his smile seemed to have gotten wider.

"You're not even trying!" Toushirou accused.

"You are correct."

"I – "

"Oi!" Shihouin yelled.

"Stop distracting me!" Toushirou snapped at Urahara.

"Oka – "

"Thrust, Tramposo."

Boom!

Out of nowhere, a strong, invisible force pushed Toushirou and sent him reeling into the ruins of a destroyed wall. His back dug into a chunk of marble. His spine cracked ominously. His head bashed against a sharp edge, and he could feel the blood starting to run down his neck. Gasping, he picked himself up and winced as he felt a surge of pain shoot up his back.

Injury check. Gash on the back of his head. Damaged spine. Bruises all over his body. Cuts on his sides. Pounding headache. Bad. At least two days in the Fourth Division, mostly because of his spine.

Toushirou groaned and blinked to clear the stars out of his eyes. His body hadn't regained the ability to function properly yet, so he stood there on unsteady legs and assessed the situation.

Kuchiki was blown back into the sword of a stocky Espada. Just before he died, he sent his Bankai at himself. Toushirou watched in slight revulsion as the pink petals slammed into the ex-noble and the Espada, sending both of them into the opposite wall. The petals continued to hack at their bodies before running out of spiritual power and dissipating into white smoke.

The two bodies were nearly unrecognizable.

"Kuchiki..." Toushirou averted his eyes – oh god, was that his head? – and checked on Shihouin and Urahara. Both of them were shoved into the mercy of the remaining Espada, fighting for their lives.

Kyouraku had managed to defeat one Espada, and was now working on the other two. He didn't look too good. His left eye socket was bleeding, and his movements looked sluggish – like he lost too much blood. Damn, he was losing!

Toushirou took one step in Kyouraku's direction, intending to help. He caught Kyouraku's eye. The older Shinigami sent him a stern look and shook his head before parrying a blow from one of the Espada. Don't help me.

"They're all about to die, you know," Aizen murmured. He was staring at the black orb in his hands – where did he get that? "I think, Hitsugaya, that this is as good a time to use the Hougyoku as any."

Shit.

Toushirou lunged desperately at Aizen. He held out his Zanpakutou and called out to the little dragons, "Souten Kisshun: I reject!" The mini serpents encased Aizen in a blue shield, but the bastard didn't seem to notice. The few wounds Aizen gained closed up... but he wasn't popping out of existence.

"No!" Toushirou hissed. He reached the blue healing – no, rejecting! – shield and yelled, "I reject, dammit!" This wasn't how it was supposed to go! Kuchiki wasn't supposed to be dead, Kyouraku shouldn't be struggling for his life, Shihouin and Urahara weren't supposed to be easily defeated –

And Toushirou wasn't supposed to be this weak.

"Too late," Aizen murmured. He held the Hougyoku close to his chest.

He could feel the dark energy radiating from the orb –

Was the Hougyoku shrinking…?

Kyouraku was stabbed by a nimble Espada.

Urahara was unconscious.

Shinouin was struggling underneath a dog pile of Arrancars.

His breath rushing out of him – No! He needed to live! He wanted to live! All those decades wasted sitting in his office, yelling at his faithful Lieutenant to get her arse off her chair and take responsibility, taking his freedom for granted –

A bright black light shone from the gem –

Red –

White –

The voices of his Hyousetsu no Muika yelling in his head –

The pain of the poison racing through his blood –

Stars...?

Japanese

Hadou #1: Shou – Way of Destruction #1: Thrust

Hadou #73: Souren Soukatsui – Way of Destruction #73: Twin Lotus Blue Fire, Crash Down

Hadou #91: Senjyu Kouten Taihou – Way of Destruction #91: Thousand Hands Bright Sky Cannon

Souten Kisshun – Twin Sacred Return Shield

The world of Alagaësia will be introduced in the next chapter - which wil also be longer.

So. I know I should be working on my other stories, but this idea was just begging to be written! I'll try to get back to WM or WaBB ASAP, but I have writer's block for both of those stories. I'm hoping concentrating on another story for a while will break the block.

I'm pretty sad that I had to kill Orihime, but she just wouldn't fit into my plans for teleporting Toushirou into Alagaësia. But I also needed her healing powers, so I settled on giving Toushirou her powers after she "died". Hyousetsu no Muika means Six Days of Ice and Snow (apparently - don't take my word for it, I know nothing about Japanese).

Please review! I'm unsure as to how this'll be received, since the Bleach-Inheritance crossover fandom is so small...

If I get less than seven reviews, I will (probably) abandon this story. Or at the very least, won't update for a long, LONG time. Alerts are fine, but there's nothing more satisfying than looking at my email and seeing all those reviews :)