Chapter 10

The cold, dry desert air blew past him as he rushed towards the ground in a heart-pounding free fall. No matter how many daring leaps or life threatening battles he faced, Ichigo found that his heart still hammered in his chest throughout every endeavor. Perhaps he'd never get used to the danger, maybe if he did that would be his undoing. He surveyed the roof he was mere moments from landing upon. Three sentries were posted, two were seated and another was peering over the edge to the dunes below. Despite his silent landing the guards were alerted by the burst of spiritual pressure Ichigo implemented to break his fall. Before any of the three had an opportunity to react, Ichigo recovered from his landing, withdrew Zangetsu from his back, careful not to disturb the Haori hanging loosely at his shoulders. With a burst of Shunpo and one slash of his mighty blade Ichigo slew all three Hollow silently and mercilessly.

Just as silent as Ichigo's landing, though with more grace, Izuru Kira landed on the roof, surveying the carnage with aplomb. Ulquiorra, Grimmjaw, Nel, Orihime, Renji, Byakuya, Ise, and Hiroshi landed moments later, and finally, Kenpachi crashed onto the roof with a resounding Boom! Byakuya glared at him, but Kenpachi ignored it.

With a glance, Ichigo imparted a silent good luck to Renji, a look that was returned with the slightest of nods. The large group split in half, and with a resounding battle cry Kenpachi leapt out into the desert night. With equally fearsome shouts of rage Renji and Grimmjaw followed him off of the roof. Ichigo's heart dropped the instant Renji went over the side of the roof, everything in him screamed for him to leap off the building as well. To fight side by side with the man he loved on this insane kamikaze mission. He didn't. Instead he turned to his comrades remaining on the roof.

Byakuya, Ulquiorra, Nelliel, Orihime, Hiroshi, Ise, and Kira stared back at him all completely emotionless, seemingly oblivious to his internal conflict. Ichigo turned his eyes away from the group, afraid they might betray his confident façade. He turned to the trap door behind them. With a swing of Zangetsu he sliced the door off of its hinges and it fell into the stairwell beneath, clattering on the spiral stone staircase before coming to a halt a few steps down. Ignoring the steps, Ichigo dropped down into the small circular space between the stairs. He fell seven or eight floors before he landed. There were no guards guarding the interior of the stairwell, but he was sure that there would be guards on the within the halls of Las Noches. Kira, Ise, and Hiroshi were at his side within moments.

Earlier that day Ulquiorra had explained the layout of the expansive compound. Beyond the stairwell was a hall that led to a large chamber, the heart of Las Noches. Here Ichigo, Hiroshi, Ise, and Kira would create a secondary distraction, tie up most or all of the remaining guards within the stronghold leaving the remainder of the party to infiltrate the throne room, where Kayko was sure to be. With Kayko eliminated the remaining Hollow who didn't flee would prove little challenge to the group. It was as good a plan as the group could come up with.

Ichigo put his hand on the door handle. He exhaled deeply and braced himself for what was about to happen. Tightening his grip on Zangetsu with his free hand, he gave the door a shove so hard that the hinges buckled beneath the force and the door flew into the room, crashing loudly onto the stone floor. With a battle cry that he'd picked up from Renji, he darted into the room. Before him stood three very alarmed guards, one fell to the floor, dead before he even had time to grasp what was happening. The second had time to raise his blade, though it did him little good with Ichigo's own blade already buried in his chest. The third guard had his blade up and ready by the time Ichigo turned to him. He swung his blade wildly at Ichigo, who dodged with a practiced ease. Before Ichigo had an opportunity to counter a red glow from behind him caught his attention.

"SHAKKAHO!" the fireball was massive and came hurdling towards the guard with uncanny speed. He barely had time to see the Kido before it rammed into his chest with a ear popping crack. The sheer force of the collision pinned him to a wall several feet away, and when the flames subsided nothing was left but an unidentifiable charred mass. Ise still stood hand extended, wisps of smoke rising from her fingertips.

Just as his companions rushed to his side a deafening shriek erupted from above, blaring for several seconds. Moments after it subsided, it was followed by another, then another.

"What is that?" Hiroshi yelled over the sound.

"The alarm." Kira shouted back. "They know we're inside the fortress."

Kira barely got the words out before several guards rushed in from the doorway at the far end of the hall several hundred feet away. First ten, then twenty, then forty Arrancar came running out of the threshold, a small army amassing before their very eyes.

"Here they come!" Ise screamed, sounding more than a little alarmed.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

X X X X X

Renji looked away from the horde of swarming Hollow and Arrancar for the briefest of moments. An alarm was blaring from within the castle. That must have meant that Ichigo and the others had begun their assault on the other side of the castle walls. It meant that things were going according to plan. His chest tightened at the thought of Ichigo in danger within the halls of the fortress. Ichigo would be fine. He was the most capable swordsman Renji had ever known. His strength and skill were unbelievable, and there was no man, Shinigami, Arrancar, or Human who was his equal. Even so, he was concerned, and unnerved by this sudden and unprecedented feeling.

Renji looked back to his prey, and somehow within the miniscule quantity of time he'd averted his gaze he had managed to become surrounded. A massive lizard, the size of a truck crawled on all fours directly before him. An Arrancar stood on either side of it, two indistinguishable beasts on either side of them. He glanced behind him to see an Arrancar who'd released his Resurreccion, a lion-man hybrid. The lizard scrambled forward, incredibly fast for its size. Renji was faster though. With a burst of Shunpo, he was behind the creature, Zabimaru already arcing down towards its spiny back. Before the blow landed one of the Arrancar had managed to close the gap between Renji and itself. It swung it's blade at Renji, he barely had time to block with Zabimaru. He leapt back, putting space between the Arrancar and himself. He swung his Zanbato in such a way that the serpentine blade curled around the back and front of him, preventing attack from either direction. He landed on a sand dune a few feet away from both the lizard and the Arrancar.

"Hihio Zabimaru!" With a rush of spiritual the links on Zabimaru detached. The metallic shards of the blade shifted to bone and reassembled, the Bankai being much larger than the Shikai. One end of the newly formed Zanbato attached itself to the hilt in Renji's hand, the other end had grew a Mane of blood red fur and a skeletal snake head. The snake raised it's head to the sky and gave out a spine tingling scream of delight. It looked down at the Hollow and Arrancar beneath it and it's blood red eyes glistened with joy at the malice to come. With the guidance of Renji's spiritual pressure the beast dropped its body to the ground, mouth agape and rushed towards its adversaries. It swallowed an Arrancar and several Hollow whole, including the giant lizard, who was miniscule in comparison to the serpent. Bits and pieces of the Hollow the beast had swallowed squirted out of the space between the series of interlocking bone plates holding it together.

Having destroyed all of the Hollow and one of the Arrancar, Renji set his sights on the remaining two Arrancar, one of who had already released his Resurreccion. The Lion leapt into the air with feline strength and grace, his fellow ran forward opting to strike from the ground. With a tug of the hilt of his blade and a bit of spiritual pressure, Renji guided the serpent to meet the Lion head on, it stretching its gaping maw. The jaws on the snakes head unhinged and a ball of Crimson energy amassed and shot from its throat. When the smoke cleared there was nothing left of the Lion, it had been completely obliterated in the blast. The remaining Arrancar, disheartened at the sight of his comrade's untimely end froze. Without a moments hesitation the snake dove head first onto the patch of sand where the Arrancar stood, swallowing it whole. As the creature slid down the Bankai's throat, one of it's arms slipped through the plating and fell to the desert sand.

Renji gauged his situation, all of the remaining adversaries near him fled at the sight of his Zanbato's second release. A hundred feet away he could make out Kenpachi having the time of his life tearing a Hollow limb from limb and slaughtering anything stupid enough to think it had a chance against him. Out past Kenpachi Grimmjaw was fighting even more viciously than the 11th Division Captain, something Renji had never though possible. He was biting, and clawing, and disemboweling, and decapitating left and right. He let out a deep, inhuman, king of the jungle roar that successfully daunted everything within a mile, then put his fist through an Arrancar's chest. For the first time Renji looked at the Espada with respect. He was a true warrior, similar in many ways to Kenpachi and himself.

When Ulquiorra explained the plan he'd said that the only strength beyond the castle walls was in numbers. Kenpachi and Grimmjaw volunteered because there was more carnage to be found out here than within the castle, and Renji would be lying to himself if he were to say that he weren't enticed by it as well, but he'd expected more of a challenge. All of the truly powerful Arrancar were inside and he was stuck out here fighting these weaklings.

A roar in the sky disrupted Renji from his thoughts. He looked up to see the largest Resurreccion he'd ever seen. A colossal dragon was diving from the night sky directly towards him. This was more like it.

X X X X X

Orihime was having trouble keeping up with the others. Ulquiorra and Byakuya had taken the lead and Nel was keeping pace beside the red-haired girl, pushing her to keep up. Her lungs were burning, her heart was pounding, and her legs were throbbing. The others made it look so easy, but she'd been sprinting for several minutes straight and she was only human. This was her lot in life. This was the path she had chosen. This was how she had decided to live, and in all likelihood this was how she was going to die. The man she loved was a warrior, and the way she saw it she could either sit by idly and wait for him to return or she could become a warrior as well. She would never be able to live with herself if Ulquiorra died and she hadn't done everything possible to protect him, so here she was.

In the months of training she'd spent with the Espada she'd become faster, stronger, and tougher. She was no longer the fragile little girl she once was. She was no longer a burden, she'd learned to carry her own weigh, and as proud as it made her it was a massive pain in her ass. Despite how far she'd come and no matter how hard she worked she'd never be as fast as everyone else. She'd never be as strong as them either, but if she could at least help a little, then all of her efforts will have been worthwhile. So despite her body's protests, she pushed on following the group without complaint.

Suddenly Ulquiorra raised his fist into the air, indicating that everyone should stop. It was eerily silent for a minute. The only sound Orihime could hear was that of her pulse drumming in her ears. No one moved, no one spoke, they all just waited in silence. As her body returned to homeostasis, she tried to focus on the spiritual pressure in the room. At first she was aware of her own, then that of the most powerful of her companions, Ulquiorra, then Byakuya, then Nelliel, and there was another, barely distinguishable amidst all of the others. What was clear enough to the Primera Espada to stop him mid-sprint took a full minute of oblivion for her to catch. That was something she'd have to work on. She eyed every shadow carefully, raising her guard, not wanting to be caught by surprise by whoever was hiding from them.

"I have no time for your games," Byakuya's strong voice carried through the apparently deserted hall. "show yourself or I'll force you out of hiding." He unsheathed his Zanbato, and paused as a figure fell from the high ceiling. It was an Arrancar, dressed the same uniform that Orihime, Ulquiorra, and Nelliel were wearing. There didn't appear to be anything unique about him. He wasn't as daunting as Yammy Llargo, or as intimidating as Grimmjaw, nevertheless Orihime maintained her guard, prepared to call upon her Shun Shun Rikka at a moment's notice. "Draw your blade, I will not cut down an unarmed opponent." Orihime could hear Byakuya sneering without even looking over at him.

The Arrancarr reached behind his back where his Zanbato rested horizontally through his belt loops. The blade rang sharply as it was freed from it's scabbard. He held it out in front of him, pointing it directly at the Squad Six Captain. " Fade Fantasma." His voice was little more than a whisper. The sword slowly dissipated, as did the wielders hand, then arm, then the rest of him faded to nothing. When his body disappeared Orihime tried to feel for his spiritual pressure but that disappeared as well. It was as if he'd faded from existence. Orihime looked around anxiously.

"Ahhh!" Nelliel yelled in protest as an invisible force lifted her off the ground and launched her against the wall a dozen feet away. She recovered quickly and braced herself for another attack, but none came. With all eyes on the Segundo Espada, it took a moment for the group to realize the threat was now on Ulquiorra. The Primera Espada seemed to sense the attack coming, because he nearly dodged it, but there was a claw mark on the side of his face. Not a moment after the Arrancar drew blood, Ulquiorra's Zanbato was in his hand and he slashed at where his opponent would have been standing, but his blade hit nothing but air.

He was incredibly fast, Orihime noted. She was the weakest link, and therefore the likely to be attacked soon. She needed a plan. Santen Kesshun was useless if she couldn't see the attack coming, so she would have to be offensive. She would have to prepare for the strike now, and when it came, she would attack. Just as she had expected, Orihime was the target of his next attack. She sensed movement behind her, and turned just in time to feel claws digging into her chest. The pain was nearly blinding, but she was prepared for this. Now was the time to attack. "Koten Zanshun!" she screamed, the pain gave both her voice and her intent an uncharacteristic edge. A burst of light erupted from one of her hair clips. Tsubaki shot through the air before her. There was a sharp popping sound as it burst through the invisible creature. Blood arced through the air and fell to the ground in a sickening spatter. The Arrancar, now visible, lay dead on the floor before her. A large hole was present where Tsubaki had punched through his head. His blood and brains were pooling on the floor beneath him, the smell made Orihime's stomach drop. "Tsubaki." She murmured, and with another burst of light, the fairy returned to her hair clip.

"An impressive kill," Nel noted clasping Orihime on the shoulder. The sensation made Orihime gag, and before she knew it she was spewing the contents of her stomach onto the corpse. When she was finished, she struggled to spit the taste out of her mouth. Looking up she noticed that everyone was staring at her. She blushed heavily, and looked to Ulquiorra for help.

"Let's press on." He said with a smirk. Everyone turned from her and she breathed in inaudible sigh of relief. After another few minutes of running, the group stopped before a large wall, wall. "This is it. Ulquiorra stated monotonously. Behind this wall is the secret entrance to the Throne room. Prepare yourselves. Kayko is undoubtedly on the other side of this wall, and by now she's expecting us." He looked to the rest of the group, his eyes lingering on Orihime. She gave him a nod. He turned back to the wall and pushed in one of the bricks. There was a clicking sound, and a section of the wall reared back and slid out of the way, presenting a narrow passage. One by one the group entered the passage, Orihime taking up the rear. The wall behind them closed itself after a brief period, enclosing them in near darkness. The only light spilled from the far end of the passageway. Ulquiorra, Byakuya, Nelliel, and finally Orihime stepped out into the light.

"Welcome." A familiar voice boomed through the room. Seated upon the throne was none other than their target, Kayko. She looked tinier than she actually was in comparison to the massive throne she was seated on. Her inky black hair framed her beautifully pale white face. Her black eyes were calm as they took in the group. " Only four eh? Where is your leader? I thought for sure Ichigo Kurosaki would take me on himself."

"That won't be necessary. I alone am more than capable of dealing with you." Ulquiorra's monotone voice cut through the room as powerfully as if he had shouted. His spiritual pressure rocketed as he moved several paces away from the rest of the group. He raised one hand, index finger extended. A small sphere of acidic green energy accumulated before his fingertip. "Cero."

X X X X X

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo screamed, and with a swing of his sword a black and red projectile shot through the air, effectively cutting down the last of the defenders. He glanced around just to be sure, but the only people left standing were Kira, Hiroshi, Ise, and himself. None of them seemed to be seriously injured, but fatigue was wearing down on them, Ise especially. There was no time for rest though, if there were no more guards to defeat, then they would move on to the throne room and help the others. "Let's press on guys. It's time to finish this." The others nodded their assent and Ichigo lead them through the hall. With a few twists and turns here and there they stood before the entrance to the throne room. Ichigo had trouble remembering the directions Ulquiorra had given him, but by the time they had arrived, the spiritual pressure within the room could be felt from a mile away. Cautiously Ichigo and his companions entered the room.

Ulquiorra, Nelliel, and Orihime were scattered on the floor, all alive, but incapacitated. Byakuya alone was fending off Kayko. Both were moving incredibly fast, Her dagger was moving almost to quickly for his Zanbato to keep up with, slashing at his arms, then stabbing at his chest, then arcing towards his throat. He was on the ropes.

"Shokkaho!" Ise yelled, a large fireball rushed towards Kayko's back. She leapt in to the air, gracefully flipping backwards and landing in a crouch behind the fireball. Byakuya sliced through the Hado easily, causing both halves of the spell to dissipate.

"Soren Sokatsui!" he raised a finger, shooting out two swirling bolts of blue lightning. Kayko blocked both bolts with a single palm, the rushed back in with her dagger. Byakuya dodged and countered where he could, but if things didn't change, Kayko would undoubtedly prove the victor.

Ichigo darted in behind Kayko slashing Zangetsu at her back. She dodged it as easily as if he were moving in slow motion, all the while never taking her eyes off of the Squad Six Captain.

"Scatter Senbonzakura. " Byakuya's blade shattered into a thousand tiny razor sharp fragments. Kayko jumped high into the air, dodging the brilliant, pink shards, and causing Ichigo to dodge the devastating attack. Holding onto the hilt tightly with one hand, Byakuya guided the blades to follow Kayko into the air. She dodged to the left, but the blades still followed. She landed onto the ground and darted towards Byakuya, Senbonzakura just a few seconds behind her.

"Hado Number 88, Hiryugekizokushintenraiho!" Byakuya outstretched his palm and fired a gargantuan column of blue lightning. Kayko was pinned, the monstrous Hado was coming at her from the front, and Senbonzakura was coming from behind. She had nowhere to go. Ichigo slammed his eyes shut and thrust Tensa Zangetsu before him blindly in an attempt to shield himself from the explosion. Ise and Hiroshi cried out as they too were struck by the sheer force of the blast. After a while, the light faded and the smoke cleared. Kayko was kneeling on the ground, her blood was beginning to pool beneath her. She was gasping for breath, slowly, painfully, she rose to her feet. The strain of her own weight caused her to stumble forward, but she caught herself just as she began to fall. Her right arm hung at her side limply, apparently dislocated, though her Zanbato was still clutched tightly in it.

"Give it up Kayko. It's over." Ichigo called to her. She turned her head to him, her once calculated jet black eyes, now crazed. Her smooth unreadable face now contorted into a twisted grin.

"Over? Oh no Ichigo Kurosaki, the fun is just beginning." She screamed out in pain as she used her left arm to raise her right, Zanbato parallel with the ground. "Rend, Chimera." Ichigo found himself blinded yet again by a brilliant red glow. When the light faded the creature standing before him wasn't Kayko, but instead a foul beast with the body of a lion the size of a trailer. From the lions back sprouted a goat with long, sharp horns, smoke trailed from its nostrils as it breathed heavily. The creatures tail was the head of a snake, venom dripping from it's open mouth and burning through the floor. The beast took a step towards Byakuya, it's lion and goat heads focused on the head of the Kuchiki house, while the serpent had its eyes locked on Ichigo. The ground where the creature stepped split and cracked under it's tremendous weight.

It roared at the Kuchiki at a decibel so extreme the ground trembled, Ichigo covered his ears with his hands in an attempt to block out the sound, but it did little good. Byakuya on the other hand seemed not on unfazed by the scare tactic, but bored. He raised his newly assembled blade and pointed the tip to the ground. "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." Byakuya released the blade and it fell through stone causing it to ripple as though it were water. Behind him on either side lager blades rose from the ground and slid forward making room for more behind them until within second a thousand blades filled the room. "Scatter." Each blade shattered into a thousand pieces and they all swarmed towards the monster. The lion roared again and the goat breathed in deeply. Just as the blades were about to converge on Kayko, the goat exhaled a breath of fire, so powerful, that all of the blades dissipated into nothing. The flames rushed on towards Byakuya who's eyes widened in alarm. "Danku!" he shouted at the last second. A rectangular barrier formed just as the fire reached Byakuya. As the flames engulfed the elder Kuchiki they blocked Ichigo's line of sight. Nothing could be seen of the Captain within the flames. The heat was so intense that sweat began to drip down Ichigo's entire body. His Shihakusho and Haori became singed by the heat and even his hair began to smoke. The fire began to burn through the oxygen in the room and it became harder and harder to breathe. Ichigo didn't know how much more of this he could take. He had to do something.

He flash stepped towards the creature prepared to attack, but as soon as he was within range, the snake tail lunged at him as fast as lightning. Ichigo brought up Tensa Zangetsu and blocked the creature, preventing it from swallowing him whole. He tried to move past it, but it was too fast.

Hollify. A voice in the back of his mind said to him. You can't outmaneuver it with Hoho, but you could with Sonido. You're faster, stronger, better as a Hollow. The voice said to him.

"I'm a monster when I Hollify." Ichigo spat bitterly.

What better to fight a monster with? Once again it seems you're in a position where accepting me is the only way to save your friends. So what's it going to be?

"Let's do it." Ichigo said through gritted teeth. Immediately Ichigo felt the darkness within himself begin to take over. The Hollow mask fitted itself to his face, his spiky orange locks extended to the small of his back. His hands sprouted claws, his wrists sported tufts of orange fur. He became larger, more muscular and a pair of wicked horns extended from his temples. The power was intense, almost overwhelming, but the more the darkness overcame Ichigo, the more in control of it he seemed to be. He tightened his grip on Tensa Zangetsu.

The snake hissed at the Hollow, it howled back at it. He rushed forward, the snake matching his pace and spitting venom at him. The soft hum of Sonido filled the throne room as Ichigo easily dodged the poison. The snake struggled to match the Hollow's uncanny speed . Before it could react he was kneeling on it's head, driving Tensa Zangetsu through it's skull. He leapt off of the as it fell to the ground flaccidly. The lion and the goat screeched in agony, quickly turning to face this new opponent. Again, the goat breathed in deeply and spewed forth flames. Ichigo was prepared for this though. He bent his head forth and charged a cero between his horns. The beam was so powerful that the ground beneath them buckled beneath the magnitude of its force, causing large fissures in the stonework. The cero dispelled the flames and obliterated the goat, going on still to punch a hole through the castle ceiling and blasting off into the desert night sky. The lion roared in protest. His four legs buckled beneath him and he fell to the stone floor.

Slowly, almost tauntingly the Hollow approached what was left of Kayko's Resurreccion. The lion was breathing labouredly, grimacing at the pain of the massive wound on its back. Ichigo approached the beast's chest and raised Tensa Zangetsu. He charged his black and crimson spiritual pressure at the tip of his blade, and wordlessly released a Getsuga Tensho into the core of the beast. The Chimera or what was left of it began to shrink. Its fur was replaced with skin, it's claws became hands and feet. The massive creature shrunk down to the size of a miniscule woman. Kayko, was struggling to hold onto her life. Ichigo approached her. She wasn't long for this world.

"This… this is not… the end." She whispered through labored breath. "I am but the first. Our armies… our armies will lay claim to Hueco Mundo…then the world of the Living…and then..."she was having trouble finishing. The light was beginning to fade from her eyes. Ichigo raised his hand to his face and his hollow mask dissolved into nothing. He was himself again, and the Hollow was contained within.

"This is for Momo you crazy bitch…" He raised Tensa Zangetsu, and brought it down on her neck, cutting cleanly through it. Her head rolled to the side on the stone floor, warm and slick with her blood.

AN: Finally, everything's just about wrapped up, or is it? One more chapter and I will be concluding part one of this fic, which means there will be a part two. I think I've been taking so much time between posts because I need a break from this story. I'm going to work on a few other things, but I will come back to Worlds collide, my very first fanfic. I'll get to work on the final chapter immediately. Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading. ; )