(Chapter 8)
"Shatter: Kyoka Suigetsu" Aizen finished before dropping his zanpakto.
Ichigo looked undisturbed.
"I must kill you." Ichigo replied and held up his zanpakto and began releasing an enormous amount of reiatsu, greater than any he had produced before.
"Awaken: Kanashii Ouja" Ichigo whispered.
All of a sudden, Ichigo was engulfed in massive black vortex that began shooting out electric bolts all around him.
Without warning Aizen and his Arrancar were blown away as the reiatsu shot out towards them, they had no choice but to use both shunpo and sonido respectively to escape the dark bolts that were striking out randomly.
"How is this possible?" Lilynette scream as they appeared on the sand that filled the outside of Las Noches.
"Interesting." Halibel stated.
"Interesting! Are you kidding me, that shinigami just resurrected like he's been an Arrancar all his life. This is getting dangerous." Stark replied.
Aizen watched as the ground began to shake and the remaining buildings around Las Noches began to collapse.
"His reiatsu is potent." Aizen added while deep in thought.
"Aizen-sama, the way Las Noches is collapsing… It's as if he was a top Espada." Stark said.
"True, his power has exceeds yours."
"What about the human girl?" Lilynette questioned.
"I put her in Szayel's lab, that room won't be destroyed by any means." Halibel stated. All of a sudden Aizen's robe began to glow a dark purple. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out…
"The Hogyoku?" Halibel asked.
"It's fully awakened, it's reacting to Kurosaki's reiatsu" Stark concluded.
"Quiet. He's coming out." Aizen ordered before putting the Hogyoku back in his pocket. In the back of his mind Aizen was smiling, now that the Hogyoku was awake he could make a grand army of Vasto Lords. But he had to stop thinking of that, Ichigo must be dealt with first.
As they saw the vortex gradually dispersing, the sound of someone using sonido filled the air as Ichigo appeared.
He stood before them in his, truly fearsome, resurrected state.
The mask that had covered only one side of his face now covered it entirely. The mask had the shape of a sinister skull with long horns protruding out of it. His skin was now the same color as his white mask. His orange hair grew in length. Small tufts of fur circled his wrists, his ankles, and around his collar bone. His entire, monstrous appearance was complete with retractable claws on his finger tips and on his toes. Ichigo looked like a truly formidable opponent complete with a pitch black, Standard sized, zanpakto.
Aizen's couldn't believe this turn of events. He had not expected Ichigo to undergo such a drastic power increase. The reiatsu Ichigo was emitting was heavy, he felt as if he would surrender to its oppressive nature at any moment.
"Incredible." Lilynette said awe struck while Stark stared at Ichigo, he was trying to gauge his strength.
Halibel stared incredulously at Ichigo. His power was amazing. It felt like the sky itself was caving in on her.
To Halibel, Ichigo's reiatsu was hypnotic almost… alluring.
Without provocation, Aizen raised his remaining arm and shouted.
"Hado # 99 Kurohitsugi" Ichigo made no distinction to move out of the way and let the black box trap him.
Aizen was about to use another kido spell but was interrupted when the box sliced in half revealing Ichigo with his Zanpakto raised above him.
Aizen's eyes widened.
"Nothing you do will change your fate, Shinigami." Ichigo spoke in a dark tone.
"You speak as if you yourself aren't one." Aizen said to buy himself time, he was still badly wounded from the loss of his arm.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Ichigo answered causing Aizen's and his Arrancar to raise an eyebrow.
"It doesn't matter. Are you sure you don't want their help?" Ichigo said while motioning to his Arrancar.
"Why? I'm going to finish this right now." Aizen replied while raising his zanpakto.
"Bankai."
Within moments the sand field was covered in a thick fog. Ichigo remained standing without moving an inch; rather his golden eyes were staring at the floor.
"You may have great power, but it is worthless when I am your opponent." Aizen called out calmly, his voice coming from all directions.
Instantly, five Aizen's appeared before Ichigo.
"What will you do Kurosaki? You have no chance of winning against my ban…"
"Vanish."
All of a sudden Ichigo slashed at the air directly to his right and, from what looked like thin air, blood began spraying…
Within moments, the fog dispersed, revealing three shocked hollow and a profusely bleeding Aizen.
"How?" Aizen thought confusedly as he tried to stop the blood surging out of his chest.
Ichigo, while under the full effects of the Aizen unstoppable bankai, was able to detect where Aizen was hiding. This simply yet unimaginable act, showed everyone present how unstoppable Ichigo had become.
Aizen immediately dropped his zanpakto and clutched his chest in pain, as blood continued to pour from his chest.
Unable to find the strength to hold himself up he fell to his knees while doing so the Hogyoku felt out of his robes and rolled to the middle of Ichigo and himself.
Paying it no mind, Aizen looked up and locked eyes with Ichigo.
Ichigo stared down at him, his fierce golden eyes meeting brown ones.
"I would have never thought I would need help to fight you." Aizen stated. Ichigo paid no attention to him and picked up Aizen's zanpakto and snapped it in half like nothing.
"Your body is broken and now, so is your weapon. You've lost." Ichigo said while raising his zanpakto.
"Halibel!" Stark exclaimed suddenly. Halibel simply nodded.
They still needed Aizen.
"I know." She replied as they both unsheathed their zanpakto.
"Lilynette stay here." Stark ordered.
"Good bye… Aizen." Ichigo whispered before bringing his weapon down. When it was within inches of Aizen the strike was block as Halibel and Stark appeared next to Aizen. Both using their zanpakto to defend Aizen.
The sound that resonating from the three of them crossing blades was massive.
"Don't get in my way." Ichigo said while using his full force to bring his blade down. Both Halibel and Stark knew that Ichigo could over power them in their unresurrected forms, even if it was both of them. Without a moment's hesitation, both Espada began unleashing a large amount of reiatsu to reinforce their power.
Both were about push Ichigo back, when suddenly the Hogyoku, that was directly below where their blades met, began screeching and started to glow bright purple.
Ichigo, Halibel, and Stark immediately looked down and were shocked to see the Hogyoku sprouting tentacles.
"Is this another one of your attempts to save Aizen's life?" Ichigo growled. Stark made to say something but stopped when the tentacles abruptly shot out and latched onto where the three weapons connected. Ichigo, Halibel and Stark began trying to pull their weapons apart but to no avail.
Within seconds more tentacles latched on, until the Hogyoku was gone and all that was left were the tentacles traveling along their weapons.
Before any of them could drop their weapons the purple strands latched onto the hand that held their weapon and began infusing itself in all 3 of them.
They tried to get if off, but if was to powerful.
"Stark what's going on?!" Lilynette asked.
"Don't come near it!" Stark shouted.
Without warning the three began releasing reiatsu uncontrollably.
"What's going on? I can't control my reiatsu." Halibel asked.
"You are absorbing the Hogyoku." Aizen said weakly as he applied medical kido to heal himself albeit slowly.
'What does that mean?' Halibel thought worriedly.
Light abruptly began shooting out of their bodies and began binding them.
"This light appears when someone uses Caja Negacion." Stark said while trying to break the binding. Before anyone could say anything else the light engulfed them and they simply vanished leaving Lilynette and Aizen shocked and confused, Aizen even felt fearful.
When the Hogyoku merged with them, he could feel the orb giving them power. If Stark had any more power he could challenge his rule. Aizen quickly rid himself of such thoughts and began focusing on healing his grave wounds. Lilynette ran over to Aizen and sat by his side to ask him what happened to her partner.
(Alternate Dimension)
The sound of rushing wind woke Stark up from his slumber. After a moment of setting his mind right, he remembered what had taken place in Las Noches and upon realization immediately shot up and began looking around.
"Where am I?" Stark asked as he found himself suspended in mid-air, and not only was he floating, but he was also in the center of a large black vortex.
'Just like the one Kurosaki created' Stark thought. He reached an arm out and the moment the black wind touched him is skin began to burn.
With a wince he pulled his arm back.
"Damn it. What is this?" Stark said aloud.
"You're finally awake?" a feminine voice asked. Stark recognized it and turned around. Though it took him awhile, through the black wind, Stark saw who had spoken.
"Halibel?" Stark asked.
"Yeah." She replied. Stark could see she was in the same situation as him.
"Don't touch the vortex." Halibel stated cautiously.
"Too late." Stark said while rubbing his head. "How long have I been out?"
"I'm not sure; I can't seem to grasp time in this… dimension. I don't know how long we've even been up. More importantly we aren't alone, look to your right." Halibel said. Stark followed her instruction and sighed.
Ichigo Kurosaki was trapped in his own vortex, but unlike them he was laying down, unconscious.
"How long has he been like that?" Stark asked.
"I don't know, but we should try to find a way out of here."
"Have you tried sonido?" Stark said while ignoring Ichigo for the moment.
"After you." Halibel replied emotionlessly. The Primera shock his head and silence settled around them for the briefest of moments.
"I don't know why, but this vortex seems to be giving me power. I've been feeling it for a while now." Halibel mentioned.
"I feel it to. I don't know what the hell is going on, but I think we either somehow absorbed the power of the Hogyoku or it's simply in the process of unlocking our power to its fullest." Stark explained.
Suddenly the vortex that kept the Espada and Ichigo trapped began whipping around faster, cutting off Halibel's and Stark vision completely. They could feel a very ominous reiatsu forcing itself into their bodies, the same thing happening to Ichigo.
"What's going on?" Halibel yelled to Stark.
"I don't know, all we can do is wait." He replied. Soon the reiatsu became too much to handle and both got to their hands and knees. They were suffocating under all the reiatsu going into them.
'I can't …control…my power' Halibel thought. Halibel and Stark felt as if they were about to fade into darkness before all three of them were suddenly engulfed in a colossal explosion. The smoke from the explosion covered miles of space in the endless darkness that Ichigo, Halibel, and Stark were in.
The smoke didn't take long to disperse, and when it finally did, it revealed beings more powerful than any other…
Halibel, who was still on her hands and knees and had just recovered from the explosion, looked at one of her hands shakingly.
'This power. What is it? It feels… good." She said. She could feel all the power swelling up inside of her. This power far out matched her old power. 'I've felt this power before' she thought.
"This power is familiar." Stark's voice rang out. Halibel gradually got to her feet and looked at Stark. He was already standing and seemed to be in deep thought. Their power was so great, the air around them crackled with electricity.
"We have so much power now." Halibel said idly while waiting for Stark to speak. Suddenly his eyes widened.
"I know this power, I felt it in the presence of a…" He immediately looked down and placed a hand on his chest.
His hollow hole was gone…
"Vasto Lord." he finished quietly. Halibel's eyes widened 'Vasto Lord?" she thought incredulously. Stark continued to stare at his holeless chest.
"Our hole's vanishing shows that as hollow we can evolve no longer. A hollow losing his hole signifies his strength is of the strongest hollow."
"My hollow hole is gone as well." Halibel stated, suddenly changing the subject. Stark looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
"Where's you hol…" He was cut off by Halibel.
"Don't worry about it." She said coldly. Stark didn't push the matter.
"Fine. Still, from what I can tell, we have become Vasto Lord. It can be nothing else, but there is one problem…"
"We were supposed to stop evolving when we became Arrancar. How can we evolve if we were adjuchas before becoming Arrancar?" Halibel asked. Stark couldn't answer that.
"I don't know. The secret must lie in the Hogyoku itself." He said. Halibel suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Wonderweiss has a hole and he's a Vasto Lord." Halibel stated.
"Aizen told me in confidence that since the Hogyoku was immature at the time of Wonderweiss's creation, it messed up the shinigamification process. Wonderweiss was created with side effects because of that. We seem to be complete Vasto Lord, which should be impossible."
Halibel was about to speak when they both were hit by reiatsu stronger than ever their own. Halibel and Stark swiftly pulled out their zanpakto and turned around.
Ichigo was waking up.
"How is he doing this? Our power just multiplied fifty-fold and his reiatsu is still overwhelming." Stark commented.
"I don't know." Halibel replied as Ichigo gradually began standing up.
"We should finish him, he's becoming an annoyance."
"You're right." Halibel said somewhat hesitantly. "But can we beat him?"
"I abhor such tactics, but together we can overpower him."
When Ichigo got up fully, Halibel and Stark stared at him in surprise, though he still had his mask fragment his hole was missing.
"He's Vasto Lord as well." Halibel whispered. They continued to stare at him as he began looking at his hands. He was no doubt realizing the power he now held, just as Halibel and Stark had.
"I thought he used resurreccion?" Halibel told Stark.
"He must have reverted when we were sent here, he can still use it if we fight…be cautious." He answered.
"It's too bad; I wouldn't have minded him joining us." Halibel stated.
"Have a soft spot for him?" Stark questioned. Halibel ignored him.
They were about to charge him simultaneously when Ichigo suddenly looked at them with a confused expression. This in turn confused Halibel and Stark.
"Wh... Who are you?" Ichigo asked unexpectedly. The two Espada raised an eyebrow and quickly glanced at each other.
"What?" Halibel asked.
"Who are you? Where am I? What am I doing here?" Ichigo asked. Now Halibel and Stark were really confused.
"Can you not remember?" Stark asked.
"…No." The orange haired Vasto Lord answered as he looked around in the black dimension they were in.
"He's lost his memory? How?" Halibel asked.
"I think his body has changed so rapidly the past couple of hours. First Aizen killed him, then he fought with only instinct, he somehow skipped the hollow evolution phase and became an Arrancar and now a Vasto Lord, all while emitting more spiritual pressure than anything I have felt before. He must have lost his memory as a side effect, it not that much of a surprise." Stark answered.
Ichigo continued to look around not paying attention to them.
"Ichigo what do you remember?" Halibel asked him. Ichigo's eyes shifted to her.
"I remember my name." was all that Ichigo said.
"Do you remember your friends, Soul Society, or even Aizen." Both noticed Ichigo's yellow eyes darken at Aizen's name.
"Aizen, that name is familiar. Soul Society is where the shinigami reside, and I don't have friends." Ichigo replied.
Both Espada had many thoughts fill their mind at this revelation.
"So you know about shinigami and hollows?" Stark asked.
"Yeah, but just some information. My mind feels clouded. What's going on?"
Stark turned to Halibel.
"You must be happy Halibel. Now he can join us." he told Halibel, who in turn glared at the Primera.
"You mean, Aizen will allow Ichigo to join us?"
"Yes, Aizen now has four Vasto Lords under his "command". When he finds out that Ichigo lost his memory…" Stark started. Ichigo was looking at them as they talked amongst themselves.
"…Aizen will attempt to control him. Ichigo could become a threat to us." Halibel reasoned.
"That is why we must plan our next step here." Stark answered.
"We absorbed the Hogyoku. Aizen is useless to us now. What plan must we come up with?"
"Even if Aizen isn't a use to us at the present, he could be in the future." Stark said.
"Your thinking Aizen could create another Hogyoku." Halibel realized.
"Yes, with a new army of Arrancar, two Espada with three Vasto Lord in charge we will no longer have to deal with Soul Society and their foolish problems." Stark finished.
"I agree." Halibel said while they turned to Ichigo.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, will you join us?" Stark propositioned. Ichigo stared at them unemotionally.
"Why?" Ichigo said before walking over to them.
For the next hour, both Halibel and Stark informed Ichigo of the Soul Society and Arrancar war. They told him all about Aizen, the Arrancar, the Espada, and everything Ichigo would need to know if he agreed to join them.
"So you want me to pretend to follow this… fallen shinigami, until we no longer need him. Then we three will take become the leaders of Hueco Mundo?"
"Yes. Aizen will try to brain wash you into acting as his weapon but don't fall for it." Halibel said, Ichigo nodded.
"So, will you join us? Will you become an Espada?" Stark asked. Ichigo eyes shifted between Stark and Halibel before grinning darkly.
"I'm in." Both Espada nodded.
"Your memory loss isn't bothering you then." Stark questioned.
"No, I'm a Hollow now; my past means little to me." The Primera nodded.
"If that is all, let's go." Stark said before standing up and punching the area in front of him, but instead of hitting the air an opening was made causing a bright light to shine through. Without hesitation, Stark walked through.
Halibel made to leave next but noticed Ichigo didn't move. When their eyes locked Halibel felt a great urge to look away in embarrassment.
"It's funny, I didn't ask what your names were." He said.
"He's Stark, I'm Tia Halibel."
"Tia."
"Call me Halibel." she said. Ichigo face quickly grew solemn while looking at the bright light leading to Hueco Mundo.
"Ok, Halibel… what will I become?" Halibel locked eyes with him for just a little longer.
"What you were meant to be…" she said quietly before walking towards Hueco Mundo.
(Author's Note: Wahahaha I'm back. This chapter is my favorite so far because it is the beginning for Ichigo's new life. Please, please, please review. Did you guys like it?
I've gotten e-mails asking where Ichigo's Arrancar mask fragment is located and how it looks. If you want to see a picture go to my profile and see the picture I have. (It is the new hollow mask he received when fighting Ulquiorra and lost control; it is half of that mask and covers only the left side of his face
On another note I have recently gotten reviews and emails about Halibel's and Ichigo's relationship and I have decided. They will get to together, thought it will be difficult I want to keep Halibel canon as much as possible and I don't see her throwing herself at Ichigo lol. There will not be smut or lemons because I don't really want them in my story. Once again please review.)
Technique Meanings
Japanese / English Meaning / User
Awaken: Kanashii Ouja/ Awaken: Sorrowful Emperor/ Ichigo's Resurreccion
