Name: Tensa Zangetsu, 'Heaven Chain Slaying Moon'.
Wielder: Ichigo Kurosaki
Appearance: Khyber-knife shaped melee weapon. Formed from dual Zanpakuto in Shikai form; larger sword conceals the smaller bowie-knife one within.
Abilities: Unmei Kattā, 'Fate Cutter'. All of Ichigo's attributes abilities are increased by 200%. Kurosaki is granted speed faster than any other recorded Shinigami. Inner blade can be utilized if outer shell is destroyed, retains the same power level as if the sword was not damaged. Capable of producing an enhanced golden Getsuga Tensho, an adopted ability from Kurosaki's Shikai.
Video Footage: CLICK TO PLAY.
Fascinating.
The footage of Ichigo cutting down Ywhach was a surreal visual for BG9. The shaky surveillance video captured of the universe-changing battle clearly showed the brutal bifurcation of his former savior, once revered as immortal. The robot analyzed the visible power emanating from Kurosaki's blade as its outer shell broke, comparing it to all known forms within his collected knowledge while using Kurotsuchi's numerical wavelength data to replicate the necessary pattern and volume needed to control it.
The resulting numerals were extremely high.
It was not due to the power of the Bankai itself, but the individual strength of Ichigo himself. His hybrid lineage had lent him significant spiritual pressure than allowed him to easily control such a spectacular power.
This was exactly what BG9 planned for. His own Quincy and Hollow composition was influenced by Kurosaki's blood line. If he shared the same reiatsu formula as him, the odds of being able to successfully learn his Bankai increased by a desirable percentage. It was not 100%, however.
BG9 was well aware that his plan had a great risk of failure, and this here was the unsure variable. His own reiatsu was extremely high; he would not be able to hold two Resurrección simultaneously if that was not the case. This Bankai was at a power level greater than, at the very minimum, five of those. BG9 had calculated thousands of different outcomes for the events that would occur upon learning Tensa Zangetsu.
The success rate was 50%.
Unhooking himself from the computer terminal, BG9 exited the room and made his way to the throne room of Las Noches. The sounds of Calaveras battling uncooperative Arrancar within the palace echoed through the giant halls, but the chaos did not faze the robot. A 50% chance of success was too low for such a fundamental step of his plan. Without Kurosaki's Bankai, he would lack the power advantage needed to attain his ultimate goal. The plan required adjustment.
An explosion rattled a nearby hallway to BG9's left. Observing the fight, he saw two odd Arrancar holding their own against his shock troopers. The fat one flung himself into the Calaveras, swinging around a giant mace while his smaller companion spewed a slime from his facial protrusion. Using his facial scanner, BG9 immediately identified the two as Pesche Guatiche and Dondochakka Birstanne.
When it realized who these two Fracionnes belonged to, BG9's calculation for victory skyrocketed.
"Huh?" Pesche stopped swinging his sword as the remaining Calaveras suddenly stopped fighting and took a knee, "What are you all doing? I was having fun, you know!"
"Uh, buddy…" Dondochakka muttered fearfully, his stumpy body starting to shake and rattle.
"I think they're afraid of us, Dondochakka! Our powers are too unbelievably super-awesome for them to beat, so they just gave up!"
"I don't think it's cuz of us."
The bug-faced Arrancar looked behind him and almost wet his loincloth. The two were completely frozen in place as BG9 aimed his mini gun at them. "Greetings, Arrancar. I commend you for your bravery in resisting my troopers. However, this is unacceptable behavior. You two are now designated as vital components to my victory. I will ask you once to peacefully drop your Zanpakuto and surrender as my captives."
"Oh yeah?" Pesche sassed back, knees rattling, "And if we don't?"
The sound of BG9's gun warming up to fire was a good enough answer for him.
"Ok! We surrender!"
As the two threw their weapons into the air and were instantly restrained by the Calaveras, BG9 withdrew his weapon. "Excellent. Your compliance is appreciated. Soon enough, you shall be reunited with your Espada master. I will ensure no harm is brought to you until then."
That was not a lie. Treating prisoners with civil behavior ensured docile behavior, for the time being. These two being alive would be of grave importance to ensuring Kurosaki's willingness to surrender upon his expected arrival.
Opening up his communications channel, BG9 was soon answered by his collaborator. "Rudbornn. Are you still within close vicinity to Las Noches?"
"I am. I am only 2 kilometers or so away."
"I require you to return briefly. I wish to deliver to you two new assets that will certainly draw your targets out into the open."
Morning again.
Tia had awoken this time with a splitting headache, feeling much worse than she had yesterday. But it was something she would have to get over. Not long after getting out of bed, Orihime had received a call from Mr. Urahara asking for Tia. After Yoruichi had given him the info told to them by the Sternritter ladies, he had worked through the night in preparing his plan to stop BG9. He wanted Tia and Ichigo there as soon as possible.
On the way to his shop, Halibel stayed relatively quiet, only replying when Ichigo spoke to her. She vividly remembered every word she had said to Yoruichi last night, and it sickened her. To appear so defeated in front of another was shameful. As much as she tried to not let those thoughts torment her, they wouldn't go away.
Worthless.
The two eventually reached their destination, with Yoruichi waiting outside for them. "Morning, you two."
"Same to you," Ichigo greeted.
Halibel and the cat lady shared a quick look. The former nodded her head, and Yoruichi understood. Not a word would be spoken about that. "Where is Kisuke?"
"He's in the basement," Yoruichi said, opening the door for them. She reached into her pocket and gave Halibel a small pill. "Eat this; it will let you exit your Gigai. You're not going to need it down there."
She popped the pill into her mouth, and exited the artificial body with ease. The body then smiled at her gleefully with a little wave. "Hi! I'm Ririn!"
"…Hello," Tia said with curiosity. Beside her Kurosaki had also eaten a pill and left his Gigai, and shook the hand of the mod-soul inhabiting his body named Noba. "What is this, exactly?"
"A mod-soul," Yoruichi replied, "But that's something to explain another time. There's no time to waste."
Tia followed Yoruichi and Ichigo down the long staircase. To her surprise, the dark corridor led to a large barren field of rock and dirt. The walls were painted to resemble a sky, making the room appear much larger than it actually was. Sitting in the center of the space was Urahara in a lounge chair, holding a clear glowing cylinder in his lap. Beside him stood a tall, mustached man with glasses. A bizarre sensation rushed through Halibel when she looked into the center of the purple item, one of familiarity. Of rebirth.
"Ah! You made it!" the shopkeeper said, hoisting himself up, "Took your time, huh?"
"I'm not a morning person," Ichigo replied, his gaze fixated on the strange object in Kisuke's grasp. "What is that?"
"The key to victory," Urahara placed the container on the ground and walked away from it, "Surely you recognize it, don't you Miss Halibel?"
There was no way. She knew what it was, or at last what the power had once been a part of. Hell, she had fought alongside the one who once merged with it.
"How do you have that?" Halibel demanded, pointing at the capsule, "Aizen merged with that!"
Ichigo looked at her in disbelief. "Wait a second… Is that-
"The Hogyoku?" Urahara finished, "No. Not exactly."
Tia gritted her teeth in anger. That item was the cause of her evolution to an Arrancar, and by extension the cause of all of her misery. "Explain!"
Sighing, Urahara complied. "As I'm sure you're aware, I developed one of the original two Hogyoku a long time ago. And as you also likely know, Aizen merged his with mine and created one singular entity. When Aizen merged with it, it became a part of him and eventually rejected him. A portion of the Hogyoku energy left his body and eventually dissipated into non-existence, unable to keep its form without an outer form of protection. Almost all of that energy was gone... except for this small amount you see in here. I collected it shortly after it had rejected Aizen, so I could try to figure out a way to destroy it. After all this time, I firmly believe it is indestructible."
"How many people know you have this?" Ichigo questioned, "The Soul Society can't be too happy about hearing that you still have this here."
"I'm fully aware of that, Mr. Kurosaki. That's why only Yoruichi, Tessai and now you two know about this small sample. It is unable to exist without being in containment or inside of a host. This little bit is nowhere near enough to grant someone the powers Aizen had; it is too weak to sustain huge transformations for a long time. If it is pushed to its limit, it could severely hurt the wielder. However, it will give a still great amount of power to anyone who takes it in. And that is where you come in, Miss Halibel."
"You want me to fuse with that?" she asked, slightly stunned, "You can't be serious."
"When someone fuses with that energy, it will manifest their own desires as long as the wielder has the willpower to make them so. That composition is sentient, Miss Halibel. It can communicate with you in its own odd way. It will help you, or deny you like it did with Aizen. If you and it bond, you will gain strength unlike no other."
"That BG9 can steal for himself."
"BG9 will not be able to steal any abilities granted to you from the Hogyoku because the Hogyoku draws strength from the host itself. The thing about desire, willpower and potential is that they are variables tied to one person. Not one individual, be they human, Hollow or Quincy share those attributes with another. The Hogyoku recognizes that. If it manifests something based off of your very conviction, it is not an ordinary reiatsu or reishi based ability. It is you, and you alone. You are the strength. The desire itself is given form to be used to achieve your goals. From what I learned, BG9 is emotionless; a cold, calculated entity without the capacity for real empathy or emotion. If it attempts to take the power of the Hogyoku, there are three definite outcomes."
The shopkeeper held up three fingers, lowering one after listing off each outcome. "One: BG9 will be unable to understand the wielder's emotion-based desires manifested and will fail. Two: BG9 will be rejected by the Hogyoku itself, being deemed as an obstacle to its current host, and will fail. Or three: both will occur simultaneously. There is no possible outcome where he can take its power as its own."
Halibel was skeptical. "What if you're wrong? What if you-
"I am not wrong," Urahara interjected abruptly, "Let me tell you this. I am more familiar with this than Aizen, than anyone, ever was or could be. If I am sure it will work, trust me. It will work."
Tessai nodded his head. "I have known this man for centuries, Miss Halibel. I will back him up on that."
"And this is where we reach the dangerous part," Urahara continued, "The actual merging. All you have to do, Tia, is place the energy within your hand and put it into your Hollow hole. That place is the source of where your heart vanished, and where the Hogyoku will attempt to fill that void. From there, it is up to you to convince it that is should not reject you."
Tia's eyes were fixed on the Hogyoku remnant the entire time he spoke. She could feel her hands shaking slightly. "…How do I do that?"
"That, I can't answer. I never merged with it, so I have no clue. It will speak to you, and you alone I presume. If your will is strong enough, you should have no issue in bonding with it. If you don't, it will reject you. And that, unfortunately, could be deadly. It has never merged with an Arrancar before; it has only created them. I hypothesize that it could undo your creation and destroy you, or permanently damage your psyche. Those are just two of the nicer sounding ones. And even if you do successfully bond with it, you can't push yourself to the extreme. It will likely drain your own life to keep itself working."
"Very encouraging," Ichigo murmured to himself.
"The choice is yours, Miss Halibel," Urahara and Tessai joined the three of them, leaving the Hogyoku remnant all alone before them, "If you think you are capable of it, go over and follow the steps I told you. If not, then we'll need to think of another plan."
She couldn't do it.
Tia continued to stare at her judgement sitting just a few meters before her. It would reject her. It would kill her for being herself. She didn't deserve it. She was a worthless piece of shit who couldn't do anything right for herself.
She was pathetic. She hated herself. She wanted to die.
Her chest was getting tighter.
Not now.
Legs weak. Ears ringing.
Everything was feeling hot. Stomach churning.
Stop.
Eyes watering.
Just grab it.
Let it kill you.
"Hey, Tia!" Ichigo shook the Espada's shoulder, "Hey! Talk to me! What's wrong?!"
Yoruichi moved Ichigo away, gripping Halibel's hand. "Hey! Look at me. You're having a panic attack. Tia. Tia!"
"I'll do it!"
Breaking from Shihouin's grip, Halibel rushed to the Hogyoku with Sonido. As she reached down for the fragment, she felt Yoruichi grab her again. She was quick.
"Tia, don't! You're not ready! Do not touch-
Too late.
Everything went silent. Not a sound to be heard. It was ethereal, unnatural.
Suddenly feeling normal, all signs of her panic attack gone, Tia looked beside her at Yoruichi, frozen in place. A look of anger and concern sat on her still face. In front of her was Ichigo, Urahara and Tessai, all of them frozen mid-step as well.
She pulled her arm away from the cat woman, her body feeling unusually light and lucid. The color of everything around her started to fade to grey, a thick purple haze swirling around the ground below.
Tia could feel something else here with her, something strong. The Hogyoku.
"Hello, Tia."
That voice. It was him.
She spun around in search of that familiar, despicable voice. Behind her, forming from the grey landscape itself was a man she despised. He wore the same white cloak that he had in Hueco Mundo, a single loose strand of hair hanging over his face. Tia clenched her fist tightly, her nails puncturing her palm and drawing blood as he smirked at her.
"It has been some time since we first met," Sosuke Aizen said, "I'd very much like to get to know you better."