A/N Next Chapter will be posted next Friday since I will be taking a break this weekend and putting off writing for a bit of time. Other than that, not much to say.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

Chapter 52

Nirvana: Apex…

Since the dark-skinned man had started weaving his tale, Ichigo hadn't said a thing. He had listened intently, all the while keeping the tip of his Bankai just inches away from his enemy's throat.

He was quite tempted, at the moment, to simply loosen his grip and drop the obsidian blade directly on the man's neck and effectively end his life, though he decided against it all the same.

What he'd just heard was almost unbelievable. In fact, he was having a hard time believing that a human being was able to admit such things without feeling any sense of regret. Thus, with a scowl on his face and his eyes narrowed, Ichigo made to speak once more.

"So, what you're telling me… is that you're the reason that she ended up like she is, am I right?" Ichigo inquired, his tone even but his eyes burning with anger.

"I merely gave her the tools to make her own path in this world. What she chose to do with the power that was granted to her is no business of mine." Brain replied.

In a fit of anger, Ichigo tabbed his zanpakuto directly to the side of Brain's head, startling him a great deal in the process.

"Is that all you have to say for yourself?!" Ichigo shouted angrily.

"Yes, in fact it is. As I said, I did not force her to go where she did. She chose to become a part of Grimoire Heart on her own. She chose to follow that guild's master, and she chose to infiltrate the Magic Council. Blaming me for her choices is tantamount to blaming…"

"Shut up! You've got no place to speak right now!"

"Have I hit a nerve?" Brain asked blankly, quirking a brow.

"Her mother came to you and asked for help… You came back and said she'd passed away… You experimented on her, forced more power into her, and ultimately set her on the path she now walks. Moreover… you don't even regret it. You don't even seem to think that what you did was of any consequence." Ichigo growled out.

"The only consequence of my actions was granting her more power, and she used that power to destroy the Bureau of Magical Development's facility alongside decades of research." Brain replied.

Almost instantly, Ichigo retracted his blade from the ground and brought its tip back to its previous position of hovering just above Brain's neck. The dark-skinned man began to sweat at this, clearly knowing that antagonizing the teen any further would lead to his death.

"She should have taken your life, bastard." Ichigo snarled.

"Perhaps so, perhaps not, but speaking of changing the past is pointless in the end, is it not?"

Ichigo couldn't help but growl angrily in response. It was true that he understood more about Ultear, a woman he previously knew almost nothing about, but that understanding struck a chord with him.

Ultear's mother, who he now knew to be Ur, likely died before she managed to escape the research facility created by Brain. With nowhere to go and no one to look after her, coupled with what he presumed to be a crazy amount of magical power for someone in general, let alone her age, it was no wonder that she wound up where she did.

In addition, she was likely filled with so much anger and hate after escaping and realizing she couldn't find her mother. Whether she knew what happened to Ur or not didn't matter, the pain of loss was still there.

In fact, not knowing may very well have been worse, because the truly false hope that she was alive may have plagued her all these years.

"You're right when you say talking about changing the past is pointless… but this conversation hasn't been. Still, it's high time I knock you out. I promise though that this'll hurt… a lot." Ichigo proclaimed, glaring heavily at the form of the enemy guild's master.

Brain started to sweat nervously, a state of panic quickly erupting all throughout his body. He had stalled a great deal, but it may very well not have been enough.

'I just need a little more time until the others are defeated. If that should happen before he knocks me out, then…' Brain thought.

The dark-skinned man's eyes abruptly widened as much as they were able to, his pupils simultaneously shrinking and his mouth opening as if he were trying to scream but simply couldn't.

"What the hell?" Ichigo uttered.

Brain began to squirm and tense, grunts of pain beginning to escape his mouth. Seeing this, Ichigo instinctively leaped backwards, believing whatever he was doing to be some form of trick. He was more than ready for anything though, so all he needed to do was exercise caution.

'Yes… yes! Knight, you've delivered our victory here today! With the Six Prayers unlocked, this fight is as good as over!' Brain thought.

Those were the last words that passed through his head before he no longer had the capability of intelligent thought. A new individual was gradually taking over, which was coupled with a large uproar of green magical energy that circled around the man's body.

'Wait, what's going on? His presence is… changing. Even if I know that, something like that shouldn't be possible…' Ichigo thought.

The magical energy surrounding Brain's body coalesced, causing a cloud of smoke to erupt and coat his form. Ichigo stared intently, readying his blade should he need to use it at a moment's notice.

"Hmhmhm…" A throaty chuckle sounded off from inside the smoke.

A shaded figure made its appearance within the aftermath of whatever had happened to Brain. It was the shape of a man, the exact same height and build as Brain, but the feel of its energy was highly different.

The figure swiped its hand across the smoke in front of him, causing it to disperse and subsequently reveal his form to the orange-haired teen.

Ichigo's eyes shot wide open at the very noticeable change in his opponent's appearance. Brain now had wavier hair, his skin was much paler, and his eyes became a blood-red color. He still wore the same clothing, but it didn't look very fitting.

"It's been quite some time since I've been able to use this body… though it doesn't surprise me when Brain was facing an opponent such as you."

"Why are you speaking in the third person? Just who the hell are you?" Ichigo asked sternly.

"Heh… I will do you the courtesy of explaining myself since you appear to be a worthy opponent. My name is Zero, and I am what you could call an alternate personality. However, Brain sealed me away, and the keys to that seal were the members of the Oracion Seis. When they are all defeated, I am given free reign." He replied, grinning sadistically as he spoke.

"Alternate personality? What the hell kind of a freak are you?"

"One who loves nothing but destruction… and it is for that purpose that I exist. Now, come at me, Ichigo Kurosaki…" Zero trailed off.

The red-eyed man's body became coated in a flash of light, which dissipated shortly after appearing. In the aftermath, his clothing had changed, taking on a more militaristic appearance. It was primarily green in color.

"…I'm looking forward to destroying you."

"Tch… that's my line, bastard." Ichigo replied.

Ironically, the first to make a move was Zero, who flashed in front of his opponent with all the speed he could muster. With a grin of sheer pleasure etched across his face, he sent a punch directly at Ichigo, aiming for his chest.

Ichigo, in response, only scoffed before bringing up his left hand and catching the fist effortlessly. Despite his attack being blocked however, Zero smirked cockily, almost as if he had his opponent right where he wanted him.

"Dark Capriccio." Zero uttered.

A beam of shimmering green with orange rings shot out of Zero's hand, clashing with Ichigo's immediately after firing off.

This time however, Zero couldn't find himself capable of smirking. His attack did indeed fire off, but it was unable to pass through the substitute's hand. The energy just flew off to the sides in every direction, clearly not even coming close to hitting its mark.

'W-What?!' Zero thought out of disbelief.

"Is that all you got…?" Ichigo asked in a bored fashion.

Zero released an annoyed grunt before trying to pull back. He, however, didn't even manage to move more than an inch before Ichigo grabbed his hand and gripped it with so much force that it likely would have shattered the bones of a lesser being.

"My turn." Ichigo simply stated.

Without hesitation, Ichigo brought Tensa Zangetsu across Zero's chest, slashing his uniform and causing blood to spill from the newly-created wound.

It was then that the substitute relinquished his hold on his opponent's hand, which Zero immediately took advantage of and leaped backwards across the battlefield as great a distance as he was able to.

The red-eyed alter ego clenched his fresh wound, taking distinct notice that it wasn't deep enough to be a finishing blow. Even though he poured all his power into defense in that instance, the blade of his opponent still easily cut through his torso.

'That amount of power… is truly staggering.' Zero thought.

He wasn't necessarily proficient in the art of absolute defense, but his magical power should have been more than enough to prevent anyone from easily wounding him like that, or at least he believed such a thing.

The fact that his skin was pierced simply meant he could not fight up close and personal. Realizing that much, he extended his right hand and gathered his magical energy, clearly preparing to use a long ranged attack.

"Dark Delete!" Zero exclaimed.

Dozens of disk-like projectiles made of shimmering green magical energy shot towards the substitute, forcing him to leap off to the right in order to dodge. Zero began to shift his aim in response, but his opponent didn't seem to really care.

"Getsuga Tenshou."

Ichigo fired off a light wave of black spiritual energy at his opponent, which tore through the disks of energy and headed straight for Zero.

In response, the pale-skinned wizard jumped up into the air, dodging the attack before facing his opponent and extending his hands towards him, all the while remaining in mid-air.

"Dark Capriccio!" Zero exclaimed.

The ray of green magical energy shot forth, heading directly for Ichigo without relent. The orange-haired teen, seeing this, waited until the attack was directly in front of him, at which point he used his immense speed to simply flash away from his current position.

Zero's eyes widened at this, mostly because he couldn't even perceive the motion for a second's time. In fact, he hadn't even really been able to discern where his opponent was until the feeling of a sword cutting across his back gave him all the information he needed.

Blood poured from yet another wound that was inflicted onto Zero's body. The dark wizard turned in order to make an attempt to defend himself further, but Ichigo sent a punch directly at his ribcage that shot him off to the side, sending him into a nearby column.

Ichigo elegantly floated down towards the ground, at which point he stared into the rubble and dust that erupted from the impact of his opponent. He waited, patiently, for some form of a response.

Abruptly, a practical storm of Dark Deletes shot forth from the cloud of dust, forcing Ichigo to go on the defensive. With the speed of Tensa Zangetsu, he began to cut the attacks as they approached, nullifying them completely and seemingly effortlessly.

The wave of attacks continued for a short time, though they ended when Zero saw very clearly that continuing was pointless. He then jumped out of the dust cloud, facing Ichigo with a stern scowl.

"I hadn't expected you to be this powerful…" Zero admitted.

"I'll take that as a compliment. For what it's worth, you're putting up more of a fight than Brain did." Ichigo lazily replied, brandishing Tensa Zangetsu after he finished doing so.

"Heh… you seem quite confident, Ichigo Kurosaki. Brain was right to worry about you, though I still have a trick or two up my sleeve. Behold, for this will be the finishing attack of our battle!" Zero exclaimed.

The dark wizard began to gather large amounts of green magical energy in his hands, making several odd gestures that indicated he was preparing to cast a spell. From seemingly nowhere, an innumerable number of shade-like creatures started to form, the sight of which caused Ichigo's eyes to widen out of shock.

"This is my most powerful move… It is capable not only of defeating an enemy, but erasing their very soul and existence. Prepare yourself, Ichigo Kurosaki…!" Zero trailed off.

The phantoms continued to multiply, though Ichigo stood in place, having quickly regained his composure. His blade was at his side and he made no move to stop his opponent, which only made Zero smirk cockily.

"Behold… Genesis Zero!"

Zero willed the wailing phantoms to charge forth, their numbers being so great that they seemed to eclipse all other things. Ichigo didn't bat an eyelash as they approached, rather he just stayed perfectly still and allowed them to surround his body without impunity.

A practical ocean of the purple shades began to encircle Ichigo's body, the sight of which made Zero smirk cockily. They continued to pile on and form a sphere that he knew would undoubtedly dissipate and reveal his opponent to have vanished.

"With this… it's over!" Zero said contentedly.

Some time passed, and yet the shades continued to whirl about around the body of the substitute, the sight of which greatly confused their summoner. In theory, they should have already vanished, and yet they had yet to do so.

As if to explain why this was the case, the encirclement of phantoms started to crack in various portions, out of which poured forth black red-laced energy that the dark wizard knew to be characteristic of the man his spell should have already defeated.

"I-Impossible! There's no way he was able to survive Genesis Zero!"

Once again as if to disprove his words, the sphere of magically created beings erupted. Black spiritual energy shot all over the immediate area, though the remnants of the spell had melted under such pressure before they could even move an inch further away from Ichigo's body.

The entire time, Ichigo hadn't moved a muscle. In fact, his eyes were still focused directly on his opponent, and his sword was still held in the same exact position that it had been prior.

"Something meant to erase an existence, huh?" Ichigo said cockily, smirking at the clear and evident shock on his opponent's facial expression.

"B-But I don't understand… Y-You should have vanished. There's no way you should still be here…" Zero uttered in a tone of disbelief.

"Right off the bat, I knew your spell wasn't going to be able to erase my existence. Even if your spell does do what you claim it does, for you to be able to do that, you'd need to have more magical energy than I have spiritual energy. Even then, I'm not so sure it'd still work since the nature of our respective power differs from one another." Ichigo stated matter-of-factly.

He brought up his sword and primed the tip directly at Zero, his expression returning to his trademark scowl and glare.

"Now, since you seem to be done, would you mind if I finished you off?"

Zero appeared to be highly taken aback by the words of his opponent, if not downright shaken. That was to be expected though, especially since his proclaimed most powerful attack was so easily cast aside.

Still, the dark wizard had one singular trick up his sleeve, and he was quite confident that it would deliver him the victory. He didn't take pride in using it, but victory was desirable above all else.

"To think that you were this powerful… Ichigo Kurosaki, you are truly a man with great strength. It saddens me that I must stoop so low to defeat you, but I must bring forth destruction and I cannot do so should you defeat me…" Zero said, his smirk returning in full force.

"The hell are you talking about? Did seeing your attack get cast aside so easily finally cause you to lose what little sanity you had?" Ichigo taunted.

"Heh, not quite…" Zero trailed off.

He extended his right hand and aimed his conjoined index and pointer finger directly at Ichigo, at which point a small sphere of green light formed at the tip of said fingers.

At first, Ichigo hadn't the slightest idea of what was going on, mostly because he couldn't sense anything coming from the presumed attack that Zero was about to mount.

'If using the full power of his magic doesn't hurt me, then what does he think this'll…' Ichigo thought.

He very quickly realized the current situation however, and he inwardly cursed himself for not deducing it sooner. The lack of presence was enough of a hint, and yet he was only just about to act as the words were about to escape the dark wizard's mouth that would potentially tip the scales of this battle in his favor.

"Cursed Seal…" Zero began.

Ichigo instantaneously appeared directly behind the red-eyed man, at which point he slashed across his back and left a deep wound. Zero then stumbled forward, but the spell remained intact and available to be cast.

This time though, the orange-haired teen wasn't capable of being hit with the blast given that Zero didn't have the ability to turn and shoot directly at him. Regardless of whether or not the spell would be capable of injuring him or not, now it wouldn't have the chance to.

"…Second Gate, Unlock!" Zero exclaimed.

A bright light flashed from his fingers, the sight of which caused Ichigo to bring up a forearm to prevent his eyes from being potentially damaged. It confused him a great deal that the spell wasn't in its projectile form, but he didn't dwell on it given that he could still feel his limbs were under his control.

The fight was currently at a standstill, though Zero still had the confidence to chuckle heartily as he picked himself up off of the ground. He quickly turned to face Ichigo, his chuckle now turning into full-fledged laughter.

"It appears that it's my win, Ichigo Kurosaki! For all of your strength, you cannot possibly fight your own body, your own soul!" Zero exclaimed.

"The hell are you talking about? The spell you just used didn't hit me, I made damn sure of that. If you think for a second that you've won, let me…"

Ichigo made an attempt to bring up his blade in a threatening manner and make to perform an attack, but he quickly realized that his blade had not moved. More importantly, his Bankai's lack of motion had entirely to do with his hand, which still sat lazily at his side.

The substitute once again tried to move it, yet he found himself unable to do so. He tried to move his other arm, then his legs, but his efforts were met with no success.

"W-What the hell?" Ichigo uttered confusedly.

He was positive that he wasn't hit by any spell, and he was still able to move even after Zero had supposedly cast it. Moreover, he couldn't feel himself losing consciousness, meaning that it definitely wasn't the same as prior.

"You seem to be mistaken. You see, this is the second gate, which doesn't need any form of a projectile to hit you." Zero stated contentedly.

"What the hell did you do?!" Ichigo shouted angrily.

"The Twin Gates… or so I was told it was called. It is a spell that is designed to placate demons, and, like the name suggests, it has two stages."

Zero held up a singular finger, placing his other hand directly behind his back in a condescending manner. He clearly knew full well his opponent wouldn't be attacking, therefore he made a point to make himself as unguarded as was possible.

"The first is a spell that requires a seal to be shot into the target. Once landed, it will temporarily cause a demon within the target's body to be sealed. Contact will be cut off, and the body enters a temporarily unconscious state, followed by a slightly longer period of immobility." He continued. The dark wizard then held up a second finger.

"However, the second sequence of the spell is much different. Unlike the first, it requires no seal since the first ensures that it was already latched onto the target. It takes a much more substantial amount of magical energy to cast it quickly, but it has the effect of rendering the target completely helpless."

Zero started to chuckle to himself, at which point he walked over to the end of the apex's platform, looking over the vastness of the dark city with a wide grin spread across his lips.

"With the Second Gate being unlocked, you will soon lose your ability to stay conscious. The demon within your body will slowly consume you, causing you to be immobile and incapable of fighting in the outside world."

"Bastard…!" Ichigo growled out.

"I truly must say that I am sorry to have defeated an opponent such as you with that spell, for it was not mine to use. It was gifted to Brain, and, had I not exhausted my most powerful move, I wouldn't have dreamed of using it. Still, even I must admit to having trouble defeating you otherwise."

The orange-haired teen made to speak, however he stopped himself from doing so upon seeing a familiar blackness starting to cover his left eye. It started to expand rapidly, and Ichigo knew exactly what that meant.

He looked down at his chest and saw that nothing else was occurring. There was no hollow hole, and no white substance was starting to create armor around his body. Still, at the very least, this meant he wasn't going to be conscious much longer.

"Your defeat came at a convenient time as well… It would appear that Nirvana has arrived at Cait Shelter. As I said, convenient, no?" Zero mused.

Simply to allow the substitute to get a good look in order to confirm the accuracy of his words, Zero stepped off to the side, extending his hand towards the horizon and gesturing directly towards a village that could clearly be seen.

Ichigo almost immediately put all of his energy into charging Zero, but he found himself once again unable to move. His struggles caused the destructive-prone wizard to chuckle, which only increased his level of anger.

"Bastard… I-I'll…" Ichigo began.

His voice seemed to simply stop after he'd said this. A few gasps escaped his lips for a brief time, but he otherwise appeared to be incapable of making any sound. His limbs were no longer under his control, and his eyes sclera had started to turn black.

"I see… so every bit of the information Knight gave Brain appears to be correct. The blackened sclera are quite interesting, I must say." Zero stated.

He then turned back to face the vastness of Nirvana, taking a deep breath of fresh air in the wake of his technical victory. As things were now, no one could stand in his way, be they Ichigo Kurosaki or otherwise.

"Now it's time for a show…" Zero mused.

He swept his right hand across the skies of the city, subsequently after which a large number of screens appeared equidistant across the vastness of the ancient relic in order to ensure his face was seen and his voice was heard.

Nirvana: Below the Apex…

"W-What the hell?!" Lucy exclaimed confusedly, seeing the projections take their place in the sky.

"Who is that? Is he another new guy?" Natsu questioned, asking no one in particular.

"I'm not sure… but I think that's… Brain." Gray reasoned.

"You sure?" Lucy asked.

"I think so… I mean, who else could it be?"

"Gray's right, I can definitely smell him from here. That's Brain, no doubt about it." Natsu stated matter-of-factly.

"W-Wait a second, if that's Brain, then doesn't that mean…" Lucy trailed off.

"Ichigo!" Wendy exclaimed worriedly.

"Hang on a second, Wendy. I'm sure Ichigo is fine." Natsu said confidently.

"Attention enemy wizards, I am Zero, the true leader of the Oracion Seis. You have all fought valiantly, but your hero, the man that you have all depended on, has fallen before my power."

"Wait, he can't be serious!" Lucy, Wendy, and Carla exclaimed in unison.

"There's no way!" Natsu shouted angrily.

"Yeah, there's no frickin' way Ichigo lost to this clown!" Gray shouted in agreement.

"Aye!"

Contrary to their words, Zero took several steps off to the side, revealing Ichigo to be standing in place, immobile, which Zero stood at the apex with a grin crossing his lips.

"Ichigo Kurosaki has been defeated. Hear me, wizards of the light, for your strongest warrior stands powerless before me!" Zero exclaimed.

The red-eyed man then walked directly behind Ichigo, at which point he called forth a great deal of green magical energy and brought back both of his hands.

"Observe…" Zero trailed off.

"D-Dodge it, Ichigo! Come on, I know ya can! There's no way you'd let this guy beat you!" Natsu shouted.

"Move! Please, move!" Wendy pleaded.

"Snap out of it!" Gray shouted.

With an enormous amount of magical energy built up in his hands, Zero slammed them into Ichigo's back, effectively firing him off into the distance like a cannonball.

As the substitute flew through the sky, Zero willed the projection to follow his form. He slammed into the ground a fair distance in front of Nirvana, bouncing several times and causing a large uproar of dirt, rock, and dust with each passing instance.

Everyone witnessing Ichigo's path cringed, though Wendy and Lucy shut their eyes after the first impact given that they had no desire to see such a thing. Natsu and Gray, on the other hand, started to growl angrily and ball their fists.

"Bastard…!" Gray sneered angrily.

"Coward!" Natsu shouted.

Nirvana: Western Section.

"You filthy scum!" Erza exclaimed.

The redheaded knight, alongside Mira, almost immediately started to shoot towards the apex, clearly being hell-bent on taking the head off of the man that was foolish enough to show them evidence that he had hurt the man they both cared for more than anything else.

Sadly, they didn't get too far before Knight appeared directly at their front, a static buzz sounding off his arrival. His hand was extended forward and had a good deal of magical energy building up within it, which made both Erza and Mira immediately go on the defensive.

"Dark Wave." Knight uttered.

A torrent of pitch black magical energy flooded the area at his front, tearing apart the very ground in front of him. Buildings toppled, debris flew in all directions, and the aftermath of his attack left little more than a crater.

Erza and Mira, however, appeared to have taken it and avoiding almost any damage. The redheaded warrior had donned her Adamantine Armor and deflected the blast, while Mira took her place directly behind Erza and relied on her to deal with the attack.

"I can't have you to leaving me so soon, now can I?" Knight asked, smirking cheekily as he floated back down onto the ground.

"Get out of our way… now." Mira said warningly.

"That is if you don't want to be torn into a thousand tiny pieces." Erza added.

The fire that emanated from their eyes and the dark aura surrounding them was more than enough of an indication to Knight that they would damn well keep their word if he didn't get out of their way. In fact, he could honestly say that he was rattled by their appearance, but he still couldn't allow them to interfere.

Luckily, the egotistic ramblings of a certain red-eyed man caught their collective attention once more and caused the fight to come to a standstill.

"Your hero has fallen, and now Nirvana will sound off its rebirth with a symphony of destruction! Behold, this shall be the first guild to meet its end!" Zero proclaimed.

The projection then showed an image of the land directly in front of Nirvana. Despite the fact that the aftermath of Ichigo's landing was still showing in the form of dust shooting up from the ground in various places, the form of a village could be seen.

"Cait Shelter…?" Erza uttered confusedly.

"That's where this thing has been heading this whole time?"

Nirvana: Below the Apex…

"W-What?!" Wendy exclaimed fearfully.

"They're going after Cait Shelter? But why?!" Lucy wondered aloud.

"That man clearly only seeks meaningless destruction…!" Carla growled out.

"Cait Shelter shall face the wrath of Nirvana! Watch, you puny insects, as both it and your strongest warrior are consumed by the might of this ancient city!" Zero exclaimed.

The projected images once again showed Cait Shelter, peacefully sitting in the forests and clearly not suspecting what was to come. From the camera lenses, it was clear that a massive amount of magical energy was being gathered at Nirvana's front, the color of which was nothing short of pure darkness itself.

"W-What do we do?! We can't let this thing attack Cait Shelter! We can't! A-And if Ichigo can't move, that means he'd get caught up in the blast too… S-So we need to do something!" Wendy shouted urgently.

"But what can we do? Someone, anyone, say somethin'!" Natsu exclaimed.

"I-It looks like Nirvana is taking time to charge up, so maybe we could…" Lucy began.

She stopped in her speech upon a massive shockwave hitting her entire being like a ton of bricks. It felt like her breath was just knocked out of her, which caused her eyes to shoot wide open and for her pupils to shrink.

Judging from the reactions of those around her, they felt the same thing, yet each of them appeared to be just as confused, if not more so, than she was.

"W-What the hell…?" Natsu uttered.

"What on earthland was that? Did we get hit with some kind of attack?" Gray wondered aloud.

"N-No… I-I don't think that was it…" Wendy said in a highly shaken tone.

Everyone turned to look at the young dragon slayer, taking distinct notice of the fact that she appeared to have gone pale.

"W-Wendy, what's wrong?" Carla inquired in a concerned tone.

In response, the blue-haired wizard simply pointed off into the distance. Everyone followed her direction and immediately saw what had shaken her to such a degree. In fact, it was impossible to miss it.

Off to the front of the ancient city, a massive pillar of dark crimson energy shot into the sky, surging into the air like an unstoppable tide. The amount of energy being outputted caused everyone present to sweat, despite the good amount of distance between them and its presumed source.

"W-What is that? It feels so… dark." Lucy uttered fearfully.

"Not just that, it's powerful… Like, really, really powerful. I've never felt anything like this before. My skins crawling just looking at it…" Gray commented, sweating slightly.

"Wendy, this ain't a wizard from Cait Shelter or somethin', is it?" Natsu asked confusedly.

"N-No… it's definitely not." Wendy replied.

"Everyone, look!" Happy shouted, gesturing back towards the projection screens that were spread throughout the skies of the vast city.

They saw a live image of the trees around the energy's emission point begin to shoot off to the side. It began to look as if a virtual hurricane was uprooting them and tearing the trees asunder, which ultimately had the effect of creating a very large clearing between Nirvana and the spire of raw power.

"Hang on, you guys… T-The place it's coming from…" Lucy trailed off.

"I-Is it… is it Ichigo?" Natsu wondered aloud.

The form of whatever was causing the large uproar of power was made invisible due to the torrent of thick energy surrounding the base of the spire, but it came from the general area that they knew Ichigo currently was. However, the energy was by far different from how his spiritual energy usually felt. It shifted from comforting and powerful to dark and deadly powerful.

Nirvana: Western Section…

"What's going on? What is the source of that energy?" Mira wondered aloud, looking to her comrade for any input.

"I don't know… but I think that it has something to do with Ichigo. This power though… i-it's incredibly different from how his presence typically feels. I can feel so much darkness that it's overwhelming…" Erza replied.

It may very well have held a greater dark nature than Nirvana itself, and the intensity of the energy the spire was emitting clearly rivaled even the most powerful magic. The endless stream of dark crimson continued to rage into the sky, showing no signs of ceasing.

Era: Headquarters of the Magic Council, Control Room…

"W-What the hell?" One of the surveillance personnel uttered.

"Private, what is it?" The chief officer present inquired from the control deck, hearing the voice of his subordinate loud and clear.

"Sir, we're detecting an enormous spike of… s-something…" The officer replied confusedly.

"Something? You better have more than just something, or you're…"

"S-Sir, I'm not trying to be vague, it's just that… this power isn't like anything I've ever seen before. The censors can't even recognize it…"

"Bring it on the main screen immediately. All of you focus your attention on this area!"

The main projector flashed an image of the area outside of the guild known as Cait Shelter, though the sight of the geographic region made almost everyone present enter a state of near-absolute shock.

The censors were going completely ballistic, and the strangest part, outside of the fact that it couldn't recognize what type of energy it was, happened to be the fact that it was continuously increasing in output.

"W-What the hell?!" Several exclaimed.

"This has to be Nirvana. Its power is truly something else…" The commander mused, sweating slightly.

"S-Sir, we've confirmed that this isn't Nirvana. Nirvana is… i-it's…"

"Spit it out, private."

"Nirvana is… Its energy is being surpassed by such a degree that it isn't even showing up on our censors!"

"What?! That's impossible!"

"I-I'm getting the same thing too, sir."

"Same here. A moment ago, I saw Nirvana's energy spike, but now i-it's just… gone."

"What the hell is going on here? Give me a status report dammit!"

"We're trying, sir, but the new energy source is making the censors go haywire! It's eclipsing everything else. We're not even able to get data from anywhere within fifty…"

The analyst was cut off by his screen, alongside all of the others, shorting out. The equipment shut down, which was quickly followed by the officers present entering a state of panic.

"The equipment just malfunctioned?! What the hell just happened?!"

"I think it was shorted out…"

"W-What? But how is that even…"

"Silence, all of you!" The commander bellowed.

"Y-Yes, sir!" They replied in unison.

"This current situation is very troubling… Contact Lahar and his group and tell them to proceed with extreme caution. For now, that's all we can do…"

Outside Cait Shelter: Nirvana, Apex…

"What manner of trickery is this…?" Zero wondered aloud.

The massive spire of energy continued to rage into the sky, still showing no sign that it was going to stop. Moreover, the source of it had to be Ichigo Kurosaki; there simply wasn't any other explanation for it.

'Is he fighting to regain control? No, that shouldn't be the case…' Zero thought.

Still, Nirvana was nearly prepared to fire off, which would ultimately destroy whatever was acting as the source of the massive spike of raw power.

While the ancient city continued to charge its beam that would bring about the destruction of Cait Shelter, Zero just continued to look at the projection, willing the Archive's camera to zoom in on the spire so that he could properly get a sense of what was happening.

He couldn't see anything in particular, though that was entirely due to the fact that the ray of dark crimson was still concealing the spire's contents from sight.

Abruptly, the energy started to die down, which instantly caught Zero's attention. The form of its cause gradually started to make its appearance, but it was something that struck Zero as extremely odd. At simply the sight of the hands being revealed, he quirked a curious brow. When all was said and done, he couldn't even believe what he was seeing.

What he had thought was Ichigo Kurosaki appeared to be something or someone else entirely, or at least he thought at first. After a short few seconds of looking at the creature that had made its arrival, it was actually unmistakably the orange-haired teen, though he took on a drastically different form. It could only be described as demonic.

Ichigo now stood at the same height with extremely pale skin, his clothes ripped save for the bottom of his shihakusho, and elongated orange hair that now stretched to the bottom of his back.

His hands and feet were now clawed, tuffs of red fur took their places on his respective wrists and ankles, and a series of black tribal markings outstretched from the center of his chest.

The two most noticeable features of all, however, happened to be the large hole that took its place at the dead center of his chest, and the absolutely demonic mask that covered his face. Said mask was skeletal in appearance with slightly-fanged teeth and shaded his eyes, which made them all but invisible. Two dark gray lines ran down his face, going down his eyes and his cheeks, and a pair of curved horns exuded from the upper sides of his head, extending outward and completing his fearsome appearance.

"What on earthland is that?" Zero uttered on reflex.

Had it not been for the orange hair coupled with the obsidian blade that the creature held in its hand, he would have immediately pegged this creature as a new arrival. However, not only did it hold the same blade as Ichigo Kurosaki, it stood at the exact same location where he had landed.

"It matters not… Nirvana is nearly ready to fire. You'll perish before you even have the chance to utilize that new form of yours, Ichigo Kurosaki." Zero said to himself.

A few short seconds later, the beam was completely ready to fire, the realization of which made Zero smirk heavily. With that in mind, he extended his hand forward, willing the ancient city to fire off its beam of destruction.

"Farewell, flies." Zero uttered.

The massive beam readied to finally destroy both Cait Shelter and the beast that stood between Nirvana and said guild. In response however, the horned creature seemed to react. It tilted its head forward, a gesture that confused Zero a great deal.

"What is it doing…?"

The dark wizard believed that it truly didn't really matter though, as a second later Nirvana fired off its destructive attack, which then raged towards its targets without relent.

Zero smirked for a short time, but stopped and adopted a confused expression upon seeing an orb of bright crimson energy form between the creature's horns. At first, he was simply confused, but when the evident attack fired off, he entered a state of sheer disbelief.

A massive wave of crimson spiritual energy poured forth, shooting directly into the black ray that Nirvana had fired off. The two massive amounts of energy clashed for a brief period of time, but the winner was almost immediately decided.

The large burst of red that came courtesy of the horned demonic creature tore through Nirvana's attack, at which point the blast continued to rage forward.

"I-Impossible! There's no what that such a thing is possible! I refuse to believe…!" Zero began.

He was cut off by the attack of the pale-skinned best slamming directly into the firing chambers of the ancient city. The wave of crimson had shot directly into the tunnel that Nirvana used to aim its beam of destruction, though it simply didn't stop until it reached the center.

The entire foundation of the large mobile fortress shook violently, doing so to the point that numerous buildings collapsed throughout the city. The explosion even managed to break the ground in several areas, causing several holes to erupt all over Nirvana's base.

It had yet to completely fall, but the damage was outrageously extensive. Zero himself had nearly fallen off of the apex, though he managed to stop himself from doing so once he had his wits about him once more.

He glared heavily at the projection monitors, only doing so exclusively so that he could express to himself the anger he felt at the being that had dared to attack the bringer of the destruction he wished to inflict upon the world.

"Graaaaaaaaaa!" The hollow roared.

The foundation of the city once again shook in the wake of the bestial roar, a wave of pressure simultaneously hitting everything around the immediate area surrounding the horned creature.

Nirvana: Below the Apex…

"Gah! My ears!" Natsu exclaimed, slamming his hands overtop the mentioned body part in order to avoid the shattering of his eardrums.

"Forget about the roar, did you see what that thing just did?! It practically just destroyed the insides of this city in one attack!" Gray shouted in a voice of clear-cut concern.

"Don't call it 'that thing', Gray! It's totally Ichigo! It has to be, right?!" Natsu shouted.

"I-It should be, right?" Lucy reasoned.

"Did you feel that things energy? It's so different that it's almost unbelievable." Gray stated.

"That doesn't mean it isn't Ichigo! Maybe he was just waitin' to use this when he really needed to." Natsu countered.

"I hope you're right, Natsu, but we have to be prepared for anything."

"No!" Wendy shouted defiantly.

It was then that the attention of the three was brought to the young dragon slayer. They immediately noticed that she was on the verge of tears, though her eyes still held a stern look to them.

"That's definitely Ichigo…! It has to be him, it just… it just has to be…" Wendy stated.

"I'm sure Ichigo is fine, Wendy." Carla assured.

"Tch, and so am I. Ain't no way anything can take him down." Natsu said with conviction.

"Yeah, I think you're right about that one…" Gray commented, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Despite saying that, he still didn't know quite what to make of the current situation.

"Uh, guys…" Lucy trailed off worriedly.

"Yeah, what is it?" Natsu asked lazily.

"I think we should try to get off of the city as quickly as possible…"

"Huh? Why?" Gray asked confusedly.

When the blonde gestured to the screen once more, everyone turned to see that the horned creature they believed to be their close comrade had leaned its head forwards once again. Realizing what that meant, they immediately decided to take Lucy's advice.

Nirvana: Western Section…

"What is that thing…?" Mira uttered in a tone of sheer dread, sweat dripping down her cheeks.

"Is it… Ichigo?" Erza wondered aloud.

"Hahahahahahaha!" Knight's laughter cut in.

The teal-haired man extended his arms outwardly in an overjoyed manner, laughing hysterically all the while. It appeared that he couldn't possible have been more happy than he was right at that moment, though it remained to be seen why that was the case.

"Brain, you brilliant fool! This is spectacular! I knew you'd be forced to use the spell on him, but I'd never in my wildest dreams thought this would happen as a result! To think that something this powerful resided within his soul! Ichigo Kurosaki, what a terrifyingly wonderful being you are!" Knight exclaimed.

"What are you babbling about?! Explain yourself!" Erza demanded.

"You can demand whatever you want, but it won't change the fact that your little friend is long gone. In that state, there is only the beast; there is only… the hollow." Knight replied.

Mira and Erza felt a cold chill run through each of their respective bodies upon hearing the utterance of that singular word. It alone raised so many questions that it set their minds into overdrive, and yet their worry was constantly competing with their desire to gain answers to those myriad questions.

"Hollow? How do you even know what that is…?" Mira trailed off.

"What, Ichigo Kurosaki never informed you of what a hollow was? Of course he did… but you just don't know why I know of such things. Sorry, I'm not quite allowed to tell you that much, little wizards. Did you think I would?" Knight said amusedly.

"What the hell did you do to Ichigo?! What manner of magic caused this?!" Erza shouted angrily.

"Are you truly that dull, or is it that you refuse to accept the reality of the situation? Ichigo Kurosaki has left the building, Ms. Scarlet. The lights are on but nobody's home. As I said, the little beast he had locked away is the only thing that's present at the moment, and you're seeing the results as we speak."

"Then you're saying that your spell…?" Mira growled out.

"Yes, though more precisely he's simply lost control in an absolute sense. This amount of power is truly staggering. Needless to say, it goes well beyond what I expected. I knew the boy was powerful, more powerful than anyone I'd ever met, but this is borderline ludicrous! It's so wonderful that I can't stand it!" Knight chirped.

"You bastard… Are you saying that you planned for something like this?!" Erza growled out.

"It was two birds with one stone, my dear. Not only was this a helpful experiment, it also allows me to be rid of Ichigo Kurosaki. That beast may roam and destroy everything in its path for years on end before it's put down, but the man it sprouted from will never return. Sorry, it's nothing pers…"

Knight hadn't even gotten the chance to finish his sentence before Erza flashed directly before his body and sliced off his left arm. It had been done so quickly and with such precision that he hadn't even sensed it coming.

However, that was far from all the two had in store for him. Without any hesitation, Mira flew at the currently one-armed man and sent a punch to his stomach that sent him flying through a nearby building. He continued to fly forward through wall after all, eventually coming to a stop in a much larger structure that only stopped his path due to its collapse.

Knight quickly shot out of the rubble, clenching his fresh wound all the while. He felt blood dripping from his mouth, though that was negligible compared to his lost arm.

'Looks like I hit a nerve…' He mentally mused.

The two female warriors rushed to his location, taking their respective places a healthy distance away from their currently injured opponent.

"You two hit pretty hard…" Knight commented amusedly.

"I should have done much worse than that." Erza stated.

"Ditto." Mira added.

Their fight was once again put on a momentary hold as the very foundation of the city began to shake once more. Buildings started to collapse, and crimson energy started to erupt from several different areas all throughout Nirvana. Miraculously, the legs had not yet been destroyed as a result of the two consecutive attacks on the city, but it didn't seem like the magic relic itself was in any way stable.

"Nirvana was hit again?!" Erza exclaimed, steadying herself in order to prevent her fall.

"No duh, Erza!" Mira replied.

The quakes ceased a moment later, at which point the two Fairy Tail wizards turned their attention towards Knight once more. The teal-haired wizard had gotten up and sheathed his sword, clearly giving off the impression he wasn't going to continue fighting.

"Sorry, but I'll be leaving now. Since my experiment was a success, there's no need for me to fight you any longer. Moreover, I dislike fighting at a disadvantage." Knight stated matter-of-factly.

Mira and Erza immediately charged at him in order to prevent his escape, though he vanished in a buzz of static before they could land an attack. The flew past where their enemy used to be standing, skidding across the ground before ultimately stabilizing themselves.

"Damn, we let him get away!" Mira growled out in an annoyed fashion.

"Calm down, we've got bigger problems on our hands." Erza said, putting aside her anger for the time being.

"What are you…"

"We need to get off of this city, and we need to do so now. I don't think Nirvana can handle another of those massive attacks." Erza said.

"You're probably right." Mira admitted.

"Then let's get moving. Whatever that thing is, it isn't going to stop until this entire city is destroyed."

"Agreed."

Outside the City of Nirvana…

"Is everyone okay?" Natsu asked, turning back to face his comrades.

"Yeah, thanks to Happy and Carla." Wendy said cheerfully.

"It was nothin'!" Happy replied confidently.

"Speak for yourself. The blonde woman in particular was rather heavy." Carla said derisively.

"I am not!" Lucy shouted angrily.

"Now's not the time for jokes. We need to keep moving, otherwise…" Gray began.

The raven-haired teen was cut off by a large beam of energy raging across the sky, once again shooting directly into the firing chambers of Nirvana and poised to erupt directly at the center of the city. Nirvana once again began to quake when the blast of energy seemed to hit its mark, at which point each and every one of the wizards present knew exactly what to do.

"Run for it!" Lucy shouted fearfully.

She alongside everyone else did just that, though they started doing so at the exact same time that the very core of Nirvana seemed to erupt in a brilliant pillar of crimson spiritual energy.

The column of light poured into the sky, being accompanied by the sound of the dark fortress crumbing and tumbling bit by bit.

Nirvana started to crumble, essentially caving in on itself from the very center. It didn't take long for it to hit the ground like a sack of bricks, after which a large shockwave echoed throughout the immediate area.

"Whooooa~!" Nearly everyone exclaimed, their feet leaving the ground due to the sudden force that pushed them forward.

Each and every one of them slammed into either the ground or a nearby tree, save for Wendy who was aided miraculously by Carla. Happy evidently hadn't been in a clear enough state of mind to do much the same, even forgetting that he could have solely prevented himself from slamming into some hard surface.

"A-Are you guys alright?!" Wendy asked worriedly.

Her comrades just groaned collectively in response, though that was perhaps understandable given their current positions.

"I think I'm okay." Lucy commented, actually sounding surprised by her own words.

"My head hurts…" Natsu mumbled under his breath.

"What a coincidence, so does mine…" Gray commented.

"Aye…"

"Do you guys need me to heal y…"

"Okay, I'm ready to go!" Natsu exclaimed, jolting upwards and recovering in what appeared to be an instant.

"W-What the hell's with that, Natsu?! You're fine already?" Gray asked in an annoyed tone.

"Sure am. What's the big deal?"

"But you were just… Never mind. We need to get going, fast. If that thing really is Ichigo…" Gray began.

"And it is Ichigo…" Natsu interjected.

"…then we should get to him fast. Whatever's going on, I want an explanation, one way or the other."

"For once, I agree with ya. Everyone good to get movin'?" Natsu inquired.

"Yeah!" Everyone unanimously replied.

Outside the Remnants of Nirvana, Western Section…

"You alright, Erza?" Mira inquired.

"Need you even ask?" Erza replied, sporting a small smirk.

"Heh… glad to see those injuries haven't made you lose your touch."

"I could say the same to you, Mirajane."

The friendly banter ended almost instantly after Erza had said those words. A serious aura coated the atmosphere before they continued speaking.

"Regardless, do you think everyone else made it out okay?" Mira inquired, sounding unsure.

"I believe so… Natsu and the others were in one group from what I could see, and they were close enough to the edge of the middle section of the city that they likely made it out. The only ones whose fate is in question would be…" Erza said. She paused, briefly, and cringed, almost as if the name of the person she was going to speak was a swear of the worst variety.

"Jura and Jellal, right?" Mira reasoned.

"Yes… and those two are both highly durable. They were likely able to make it out, or survive at the very least, but for the moment that is not our concern." Erza replied, directing a serious look towards her white-haired comrade.

"You're right. For now, getting to Ichigo and seeing just what the hell is going on is our top priority."

"You took the words right out of my mouth. Let's get going."

Outside the Remnants of Nirvana, Northern Section…

Before the once mobile city stood the demonic figure of Ichigo Kurosaki, or what most would believe was him, which simply stood in place without any sing of doing anything more.

"Raaah…" The raspy growl echoed.

The horned beast leaned its head forward yet again, staring at the remains of Nirvana with deadened eyes. A large orb of crimson once again charged between its extended horns, shortly after which the doom blast fired off.

Nirvana was quickly coated by a large amount of smoke and fire, which emanated from the massive explosion at its center where the Cero hit. Its core was decimated, its legs were destroyed, or, in the case of those that were still intact, completely powerless.

As the ancient city burned, the hollow that had decimated it could only look onwards blankly. Whatever its motives were didn't matter; the end result was the complete and utterer destruction of Nirvana.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" The beast roared victoriously.

The air around it became thick and the very ground began to shake, though any foliage or trees in the immediate area had long since been torn asunder by the repeated uproars of raw energy that echoed from its being.

Abruptly, the sound of turning stones and rock caught the horned-hollow's attention. He shifted his head to the right, doing so once again blankly, and it was then that a familiar face made his appearance once more.

"Y-You… You…!" Zero growled out.

The esteemed master of the Oracion Seis was currently battered and beaten beyond any measurable sense of the word. His clothing was in tatters above his waste, his skin was burned and bruised, and his entire body seemed to ache with every movement he made.

"You would dare to destroy Nirvana?! Answer me, Ichigo Kurosaki!" Zero demanded angrily.

The creature made no reply, which made the pale-skinned wizard scoff to himself.

"You can't even reply to me, can you…? You're just the remnants of the demon that I unleashed." Zero mused.

Once again, no reply sounded off, which made him chuckle at the irony of the situation. Whether it was a fluke, a stroke of luck on the part of his enemies, or his own misfortune, Zero didn't care. All there was now was his revenge.

"So this must be the demon that was chained within your soul. Truly frightening, I must say, however you're no better than a beast as things stand. Regardless, you've destroyed the harbinger of the destruction I wished to thrust onto this world, and for that you must pay!" Zero said.

The master of the Oracion Seis extended his right hand and fired off a Dark Capriccio directly at his opponent, which he willed to slam directly into the creature's chest and caused a small explosion to engulf its form.

Zero didn't stop there; rather he took immediate advantage over the fact that the target of his rage wasn't reacting.

"Dark Delete!"

Countless disks of shimmering green magic energy started to fly across the air towards Ichigo's hollowfied figure, each of which seemed to land a hit. After several short moments of continuous attacks, the dark wizard once again shifted patterns.

"Dark Rondo!"

A massive wave of raw energy flooded forth from Zero's hands, which shot out like a relentless barrage and headed straight for the smoke-covered being that had been theoretically pummeled thus far.

"You're… you're refusal to move… was a… mistake…!" Zero breathed out, having exhausted a great deal of energy in his previous onslaught of attacks.

The dark wizard found it necessary to turn and guard himself a moment later, at which point he put all of his magical power into deflecting the twin swords of Erza's Flight Armor. He held up a single forearm and blocked the blades, at which point he pointed a counterattack.

"Dark Delete!" Zero exclaimed.

The scarlet-haired knight leaped backwards in the air, slashing the disks of magical energy as she continued to put more distance between her and her opponent.

A short time later, Zero stopped his series of attacks, scoffing disappointedly at Erza's attempt to defeat him.

"Tch… and I half-expected Mirajane Strauss to attack from my flank during the interim. However…"

Zero flipped his body and fired off a series of Dark Delete's, which forced the incoming form of Mira to fly up into the skies and over his body to avoid the innumerable attacks.

She came to a stop at Erza's side, scowling heavily due to her inability to land a hit. Even now, it appeared that her magical energy was waning, but no one could blame her or Erza for feeling a small bit of fatigue after such a long time of continuous combat.

"I am disappointed by you two. With that monster put down, the two of you are the only ones that can defeat me." Zero gloated.

A large spike of pressure hit the air around the immediate area, the feeling of which caused the eyes of everyone present to shoot wide open and for their breathing to become heavy.

"H-How could this possibly…?!" Zero uttered in shock.

He turned to see the smoke begin to clear around the body of Ichigo Kurosaki, revealing his form to be completely unfazed by the series of attacks that Zero had mounted.

In fact, the hollowifed Soul Reaper didn't even seem to care in the slightest about any of the attacks that had hit him. It was even a stretch to say he viewed them as anything less than inconsequential.

"Tch… Dark Capriccio!" Zero exclaimed.

A beam of green magical energy shot forth from his extended right hand, which approached the demonic creature without impunity. When it neared its form, however, the horned-hollow extended its left hand and grabbed the beam. Without even so much as batting a metaphorical eyelash, he smashed the gathering of energy in his hand.

"T-That's not possible…! You couldn't have…" Zero began.

He, however, stopped in his speech upon a static buzzing sound echoing in his ears, shortly after which the intimidating form of the demon formerly known as Ichigo Kurosaki was directly at his front.

Zero's eye shot wide open and sweat dripped down his cheeks. He made to fire off another attack in order to fend off his opponent, but it was far too late to move so much so much as a muscle.

Without any hesitation, the horned beast slashed Zero down the right side of his body, severing his right hand and a majority of his right leg. He released an agonizing scream while falling to the ground, but he could do little else.

Ichigo's hollowfied form still stood above that of Zero's, holding the same stance he had kept when he delivered what was perceived as the final blow of the fight.

Mira and Erza watched with disbelief shining through in their eyes, neither of them being able to make heads or tails of the current situation.

"I-I… h-have lost?" Zero uttered confusedly.

The words of the beaten dark wizard caused the two Fairy Tail beauties to be released from their respective states of shock. Before they took any further action, however, their comrades came running in from overtop the nearest demolished area of Nirvana.

"W-Whoa, we totally won!" Natsu cheered.

"Aye!"

"Ichigo, shout if you can hear us!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Y-Yeah, are you okay?!" Wendy shouted.

"Come on man, don't keep us hangin'!" Gray added.

The remaining members of their party ran up to the side of Mira and Erza, though their eyes never left the form of Ichigo and the currently disembodied Zero.

"W-Wendy, you should avert your eyes…" Carla quietly stated.

"T-This was a real battle, Carla. There's no helping it if someone gets hurt. Plus, he's still alive…" Wendy replied, though the sight was slightly unnerving from her perspective.

"Forget that. Ichigo, how are…" Natsu began.

The Fire Dragon Slayer stared to walk forward, but he was stopped by an arm placing itself directly between him and Ichigo. He immediately realized it was Erza who was barring his way, which immediately caused him to look confusedly at the redhead. All he was met with, however, was a stern glare on her part.

"Natsu, don't move towards him." Erza chided.

"Why not? That's Ichigo, right?" Natsu mused.

"…I don't know. As far as Mira and I are aware, this is supposedly a state where he has no control over his own actions… Now, do as I say and stay back." Erza said commandingly.

"But…"

"Do as she says, Natsu. This isn't something we can joke about." Mira said firmly.

"B-But that's Ichigo, right? It can't not be him… h-he's too strong. There's no way he'd ever lose control…" Wendy uttered in a worried tone.

"Tch… what they say is true, child. This beast is none other than Ichigo Kurosaki, but he is not in control of his own body. For me to be defeated by such an anim…" Zero began.

He was forced to release a pained grunt at the clawed feet of the hollow hovering above his body slamming it into the side of his head. The beast leaned down and primed its horns directly above his head, charging a large crimson cero between them all the while.

"W-Wha…?" Wendy uttered in a lost tone.

"Huh?" Many gasped.

"I-Ichigo, stop it! That man will face his punishment in due time! If you're in there, stop this madness!"

"L-Listen to Erza dammit! You don't need to go as far as killing him! Not when he's like that!" Mira shouted.

"W-What are you doin', Ichigo?!" Natsu exclaimed.

Despite their words and the genuine concern and urgency in their tones, Ichigo didn't move an inch. Perhaps, however, a name couldn't even be attached to the creature that held a Cero directly overtop Zero's head.

When the energy continuing to spiral to life, Erza extended her hand forward and made to stop the attack from firing off, knowing full well that something that couldn't be undone would most assuredly occur if she did nothing. Sadly, she couldn't even take so much as a single step before the Cero discharged.

A/N Again, next chapter will be next Friday.

Explanations:

Re: Natsu's New Form: If you're looking for a name, I guess it'd be Spirit Flame Dragon Mode. Will it give him a zanpakuto or hollow powers? Nope, not at all. He absorbed standard spirit energy which is like super-magic energy on mega-steroids, since it comes from Ichigo. Again, it is permanent in that he can access it at will.

What's Next?: More of Ichigo's full hollow form, of course.