DISCLAIMER:: I do not own bleach or any of the characters.

Chapter 7: The final battle

Halibel fought against Aizen while enraged at her inability to be of any use to the soul reapers but even they seemed to be far below his level of strength. She was already injured and having trouble maintaining her released state. Even attacking him was weakening to her as her eyes fought to stay open as she was ready to collapse from blood loss and exhaustion. She had been in her release state for far too long and too much today to be able to maintain it properly.

Most of the soul reaper Captains were near her and much closer then she would like but they fought the same man that she did while Gin fought others nearby and Tousen had already been slain by others. The other three soul reapers she had encountered in Hueco Mundo were present as well though the female wasn't fairing too well as she didn't seem very strong.

She engaged Aizen once more in close combat only to manage a few swings of her weapon before she was forced away. He readied for an attack before she managed to come to a stop but as she did her vision blurred and began to fade. It lasted only a moment but that moment was enough for it to be fatal. She braced for the attack that was almost upon her only to be taken by complete surprise as his attack connected with something in front of her.

This also took him by surprise but it was even more so as he was attacked from the side by Mila Rose. The shock of this turn of event was enough to catch him off guard as her blade found his back. He turned to attack her only to be stabbed once more by Sung Sun. Apacci came at him as well but her attack was blocked as he had become wise to the ambush.

Halibel stood in shock at what was happening before her anger at their disobedience began its rise. It didn't get high however as she was immediately informed by Mila Rose, "She's safe and under protection. Before you snap at us bringing the shield was her idea. It will protect us as much as it can."

She nodded as the shield disappeared and they both went after Aizen once more. As it disappeared she faintly took note of the three small lights that began to trail them but soon discarded it as her vision began to blur once more. She narrowed her eyes to try and still herself but it only worsened as she began to feel very weak. Her balance weakened and her mind wavered as she lost her focus.

The world around her began to slow as she fell into a deep sinking feeling before remembering why she was doing this as thoughts of Orihime filled her mind to serve as a final thought but it kept her going as the thought of her was immediately followed by the knowledge of what would happen to her if she failed to kill Aizen. Now that the girl was here also she couldn't let up in the slightest.

Mila Rose's and Halibel's blades made contact with Aizen's. They held him there for a moment before he threw off their blades and used shunpo to avoid another attack by the female soul reaper who was attacked immediately but the shield moved to protect her and barely made it in time. She too was taken aback by it and didn't see the next attack from her other side. The soul reaper was impaled in the side and Aizen's blade went all the way through her.

Halibel used his attack to her advantage as she lunged at him the instant he threw her to the ground. She pinned him to the shield by the neck and brought her weapon back to strike him but as she was about to attack her vision faded once more causing her grip to loosen on him. It was an instant mistake as she was stabbed through the stomach causing everything to come back to her in a flash. The pain ran throughout her entire body as blood dripped from her mouth as well.

Her body shook slightly from the pain before she was kicked off his blade. She was caught by Mile Rose and held tightly as Apacci and Sung Sun appeared in front of her with their guards raised. "We'll bring you to your human."

"I'm fine." Halibel said weakly and shook Mila Rose off of her.

When she was released her vision began to fade once more but worse then before as it remained for a longer period of time. When she spotted Aizen next she went at him again without caring that she had been on the verge of death for most of this fight. All her focus was held tight as this would be her final attack but as she got closer to him his own attack stopped and his image faltered and changed into that of a soul reaper.

There was a shout from off to the side as the soul reaper fell to the ground and a Captain went after her without hesitation. Halibel stood at a loss for a moment at what was going on until she felt a burst of reiatsu from far behind her and on the ground. She ignored it as she reverted to her normal state and closed her eyes. She could sense all the others hurrying over but she didn't move as her sword fell from her grip making the soul reaper she was partially familiar with come to a stop before passing her.

She opened her eyes and glanced over weakly, "There's nothing more I can do."

He gave her a concerned look despite the fact that they were enemies not even an hour ago. Halibel slowly went to the ground as she said, "Go on, they need you."

He nodded and went on to rejoin the battle as she continued to the ground. A sigh escaped her as her vision blurred to the point where everything seemed to merge together as the world seemed to melt away around her. She felt completely at a loss of what was around her until she touched the ground. For a moment she stood there and watched the ground before her vision cleared a little as she glanced to the side and found the female soul reaper she recognized.

She was laying in her blood holding her wound as she withered in pain. Halibel watched her for a moment before stumbling over to her at a slow pace and sat down next to her and rolled her over to apply pressure on her wound. The girl winced in pain before looking up at her in confusion only for her eyes to widen at how little life was in the espada's eyes as she continued to try and help the girl.

Halibel continued to apply pressure but she could no longer make anything out. They didn't share words as the espada was too weak and the soul reaper didn't know what to say to her. It wasn't long though before Halibel lost consciousness and began to fall over. Rukia caught her hastily causing her wound to worsen and even more so as she laid the espada down. Twice now this espada tried to prevent her death today.

She couldn't help but smile at the kindness this espada held as she was grateful that Orihime had found someone caring and more then willing to do anything to protect the girl. It wasn't the greatest that she had fallen for a hollow but under the circumstances it was a good thing as it changed the course this war would have taken if they didn't have this espada and her arrancar as allies. Even she would have likely died if this espada didn't arrive when she had earlier.

Sorry for the really short chapter but with Halibel's current lack of energy and strength I couldn't have it going on for very long and have her condition really taken seriously also since this fic focuses on Halibel and Orihime I couldn't go off and focus on another character for very long since it wouldn't have the same feel as the rest of the fic. Also with the restrictions and filtering going on when I wrote this I didn't want it to be removed since it would make this whole fic a waste of time.