Harribel walked through Aizen's halls, and saw a complete mess. There were holes and collapsed pillars all around her. She then sensed a powerful force above her. Shooting up into the air to investigate, she saw Ulquiorra in his final form, Ichigo, Ishida, and Orihime.
"What is this?" Harribel demanded upon seeing Ulquiorra.
"You were not supposed to see this, but since you have I will tell you. I have another resurrection," Ulquiorra told her.
"Another?" Harribel looked at him in stunned amazement.
"I am the most powerful Espada, and a rival to Aizen. You can either join us in defeating Aizen or die," he said cruelly.
"I would never betray Aizen," Harribel said taking out her sword.
"You are weak. You will not be able to defeat me. It is useless," Ulquiorra told her.
Harribel refused to listen, and in a flash was next to Ulquirroa. He easily blocked her with his own spike, but then became instantly frozen in place. Ichigo gave a shocked look, as Harribel approached him.
"There can only be one vessel. Rukia is fighting the Commander now; she will perish in the flames and you will die here," she said.
Ichigo readied his Bankai, but he still felt weak from the battle with Ulquiorra. "You will be sacrificed for Aizen's glory just as my own subordinates were," she said, and then went in for an attack.
Just as she was about to strike Ichigo, a spike went through her chest. She coughed up blood, and turned around to see a calm looking Ulquiorra. He withdrew the spike, and then slashed her across her abdomen with his tail.
"How?" she asked.
"You never had the ability to challenge Aizen. You were merely a pawn; a pawn that may be sacrificed at any moment," Ulquiorra said.
Harribel fell to the ground, and before Orihime could heal her, Ulquiorra stabbed her with a green arrow until her body completely disappeared. Upon her death, Orihime began to sob, as the violence she had witnessed was beginning to break her spirit.
"Was that necessary?" Ichigo asked Ulquiorra with a serious expression.
"Yes, if the fight had dragged on, we would be too late to save Rukia. We must hurry," Ulquiorra said, and then pinched the air with his hand.
As Ichigo appeared on the battlefield, he could see Rukia and the Commander fighting in the distance, and then he saw Aizen. Without a plan in his head, Ichigo swung at Aizen's backside for a kill shot. Aizen blocked the attack with his own energy and turned to face Ichigo.
"So, you have defeated Ulquiorra?" he smirked.
Ichigo swiped at Aizen again, but missed. Aizen then saw Ulquiorra in the distance watching intently. "I see," Aizen said displeased.
"The fool is fighting Aizen-sama without his mask," Ulquiorra insulted. "And yet there is nothing I can do. I have seen his sword."
Gin noticed the emergence of Ulquiorra, Ishida, and Orihime. "My, what do we have here? Is that you Ulquiorra?" Gin grinned.
"We should kill him first," Ulquiorra told the others.
"Kill me?" Gin mocked. "Bankai," he said powering up.
When he was finished, Gin's sword remained the same. "What is going on? Nothing has changed," Ishida asked.
"His Bankai can extend to 13 kilometers, and can contract 50 times the speed of sound," Ulquiorra told him.
"Seems slow to me," Ishida smiled confidently, and then raised his bow.
Ishida aimed, and fired on Gin with a shower of blue arrows. Gin furiously blocked the arrows with his sword, but Ishida continued his onslaught. "Can you keep that up?" Ulquiorra asked him.
"As long as spirit energy is present," Ishida told him.
Ulquiorra nodded, and then powered up a green arrow. Gin went on the offensive against Ishida but Orihime shielded him before the sword could hit him. Ulquiorra appeared behind Gin with his green arrow, but Gin slashed the arrow into pieces before it could connect. Ulquiorra clashed with their weapons, as Ishida continued to fire. Even as Ishida fired hundreds of arrows a second, Gin and Ulquiorra were able to dodge them all, as they fought.
Orihime watched intently, as Gin extended and contracted his sword in his fight against Ulquiorra. She then saw Aizen merely playing with Ichigo in the distance. Realizing an important observation, she sent her spirits towards Gin.
"I reject," she said, as the spirits formed a shield around Gin's sword.
Gin's sword reverted back to a dagger form, and wouldn't move. Ulquiorra saw his chance and punctured Gin with his spike. Ulquiorra then powered up a green arrow, and rammed it into Gin's body blasting a hole right through him. A mortally wounded Gin fell to his death below.
Aizen noticed Gin's death with little regard and continued to duel Ichigo. A fire blast suddenly hit Ulquiorra stunning him. Tousen in Shinigami form appeared next to Ulquiorra, and then slashed him across the chest. He then created dozens of blades from his sword, and shot them off towards Ishida. The Quincy struggled to dodge but there were too many. He was stabbed a few times, and fell on the roof of a skyscraper. Orihime ran over to him, and worked quickly to heal him.
Tousen aimed at Orihime and Ishida, and fired. There was an explosion as the skyscraper fell to the ground sending dust into the air. "I never thought you would be the one to rebel Ulquiorra," Tousen remarked.
Tousen then Hollowified, a bony mask covering his face. "Do not think I need them to defeat you," Ulquiorra said, as they clashed with their swords.
Meanwhile, Yamamoto was on the ground barely able to move, as ice pillars surrounded him. His beard was frozen, and his wounds were many. Rukia stood over him for a final attack. "Rukia, he will kill you next. He will kill everyone. Remember the town you were sent to protect, he will kill them all," Yamamoto pleaded with her.
"I will kill Aizen after I am done with you," she promised.
Yamamoto looked at her in a new light. He felt somewhat content with his death now. Rukia raised the end of her staff above the Commander's back, and then shoved it through him killing him instantly. She looked over the beaten old man; his Captain's jacket was gone revealing all the scars he had suffered in previous battles.
Looking up, she saw Ichigo fighting in vain against Aizen. "Ichigo," she muttered.
Aizen threw off Ichigo, and eyed Tousen's struggle with Ulquiorra. The Espada hit Tousen with his wing shooting the Vizard down to the ground. Ulquiorra powered up a green arrow, and blasted the surrounding area causing a number of buildings to fall down upon Tousen.
Aizen phased next to Ulquiorra, and slashed off the arrancar's arm before Ulquiorra could react. Ichigo came to Ulquiorra's defense by swinging his sword at Aizen with his newly formed mask. Aizen phased away before he could get hit. Ulquiorra simply stared forward as his arm regenerated.
"Got any ideas?" Ichigo asked him.
"My senses prove useless. Allow me to correct this," Ulquiorra said, and then suddenly stabbed his eyes with his fingers imploding them.
"What are you doing?" Ichigo asked alarmed.
"I now have control over my senses. Aizen's Suigetsu does not affect regenerated eyes; it is why I chose regeneration over all other strengths," Ulquiorra explained.
Ulquiorra's eyes regenerated allowing him to see clearly. Aizen seemed to notice what Ulquiorra had done, and simply smiled amused. "Even without Suigetsu, you will not suceed," he told them.
"We will have to fight him together," Ulquiorra suggested.
Ichigo nodded in agreement. The two sped towards Aizen reminding Ichigo of the time when he and Renji joined forces. But Renji was dead, and Ulquiorra was no ally. Aizen expertly avoided the slashes and swipes of the two. Finally, Ichigo snuck up behind Aizen, and held him tightly.
"Shoot!" Ichigo said to Ulquiorra.
Ulquiorra powered up a green arrow without hesitation. "Interesting. Do you intend to die Kurosaki Ichigo?" Aizen asked.
"As long as I take you down with me," Ichigo replied.
"And what of your child? You are a father after all," Aizen pointed out.
Ichigo hesitated, and lost his will to fight. Aizen quickly broke Ichigo's grip, and dodged Ulquiorra's attack. The green arrow went into the distance creating a large explosion. Ulquiorra looked at Ichigo with disappointed eyes.
Aizen and Ulquiorra dueled one on one, as Ichigo watched in awe. This was Ulquiorra at his best, despite losing a leg or an arm he kept coming back. While he was in Hollow form, he was conscious so he never saw Ulquiorra fight him. Aizen blocked Ulquiorra's green arrow with his bare hand creating an explosion around them. Ulquiorra retreated away, as he healed his wounds. Aizen's hand was slightly burned from the attack.
"He's hurt but when I did it…," Ichigo considered.
"You truly deserve the highest rank among the Espada," Aizen complimented. "Why did you not show me your true form Ulquiorra?"
"I had planned to usurp you since the first time we met, but none of the other Espada were suitable to assist me. Stark lacked motivation, Barragan did not consider me his equal, and Harribel was too loyal. The others were just trash," Ulquiorra said.
"What motivates you now Ulquiorra?" Aizen wondered.
Rukia appeared next to Ichigo, as Aizen and Ulquiorra conversed. "I see now. The child gives you meaning to your existence," Aizen realized.
"The bonds between mother and child have created something more powerful than either of them could be by themselves. If I establish bonds, I too will ascend," Ulquiorra said.
"Unfortunately your journey of discovery ends here Ulquiorra. You have killed Gin, and that is not something I can forgive," Aizen told him.