Hey everyone. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, that is if you celebrate it. As well, I'd like to wish everyone an early Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Don't know it was for everyone else, but this year was a rough one, like the last and the one before. Sigh. Anyway, I've got the next chapter of our story here for you all, so I guess you could think of it as an early Christmas present, lol.
There is an upcoming moderate change to the story I'd like to put out. After some thinking, I've decided to split this story into two parts, this being part one so far. It's hard to say definitively how many more chapters are left for part one, but I can say that the end is not too far away. But rest assured, just because the story is being broken up into parts does not mean that the overall story will go into hiatus at the conclusion of part one. The reason for the split is we are already at over 860k words as of this chapter, so by the time this part is over, it will likely be over one million. All put together….. It's a LOT. So, I felt it best to split into parts. I apologize in advance to those that don't agree with this.
With all that said, I'll let you get on to the reading. Hope you enjoy.
(A/N: There are references and uses of kidō techniques in this chapter that are not a part of the Bleach anime or manga. These kidō spells are the creation of 'draconichero18' from DeviantArt, and credit for it goes to him. The names and descriptions of these kidōs are used with the creator's permission.)
(I DO NOT OWN BLEACH; ITS CHARACTERS, NAMES, LOCATIONS, OR STORY! THAT HONOR BELONGS SOLELY TO TITE KUBO AND HIS TEAM! ONLY THE OC, AND RANDOM NAMES NOT MENTIONED IN THE BOOKS OR ANIME ARE MY OWN!)
(The Fallen Princess: Part 1)
Quatro Espada's Palace, With Ichigo and Nel
It took a moment for the words to reach them, and a moment longer for the pair to comprehend them. The substitute soul reaper and former Espada had expected their opponent to say something that was along the lines of another misdirection, or a flat-out lie; but what the Orihime look-alike had said just then was… something they had not expected. For a brief moment, both had the exact same thought in mind. Had they misheard the woman?
It was Nel who spoke up in utter confusion. "I'm sorry…. What?" she asked with a dumbfounded expression, bordering on shock. One that Ichigo matched.
The woman across from them chuckled darkly, keeping her fanged grin in place. "Didn't you hear me? Fine, I will say it once more, but a bit more slowly so you can catch every word. I. Am. Orihime. Was that better?" she mocked with another chuckle.
Again, it took a moment for the duo to fully grasp what the woman was saying, and when they did, Nel's eyes went wide in horror, while Ichigo's narrowed in fury. His knuckles went white as his grip on his zanpakutō grew tighter and tighter with each passing second. Clenching his teeth and letting out a low growl, the teen threw out an accusing finger at the woman. "Quit playing with us, you bastard! I'm sick of these stupid games and lies of yours. Tell us where Orihime is, or I swear I'll…"
"You'll what?" 'Orihime' taunted, shifting her stance and planting her free hand on her hip. "Beat me up? Kill me, as if you could? Stand there shouting pathetic insults? Honestly, the last one is all you really can do to me, as you have just proven." She flipped her hand out to the side. "After that last attack, all you were able to do was scuff up my clothes, a tiny scratch at best. And unless you have something better hidden up your sleeves, the two of you are done."
This only served to infuriate the substitute even further. "Shut up!" he roared, dropping down lower to charge forward, only for Nel to dash over and block his path with her lance.
"Calm yourself, Ichigo!" she snapped, getting his attention. "Remember what I said; flying into a rage is only going to work against you." she consoled, then turned her gaze to their opponent. "Though I am inclined to agree. I, too, can't help but see this as a farce. The Orihime we know is a person who would do anything and everything possible to help others, including those who are her enemy. You, however, are the complete opposite. And you claim to be Orihime? Even if you are the spitting image of her, it is simply not possible for you to be her."
'Orihime' raised a brow of interest. "Oh? Is that so? Then perhaps you can explain how you, an Espada who should despise soul reapers and humans, are instead working with them?" she challenged, turning towards Ichigo. "Or how a living human was able to acquire the powers of a soul reaper, and a hollow. One power should be impossible, him being human and all, but having both? Yet…" She held an open hand out towards him. "Here he stands, the impossible somehow possible. Better yet, just his existence alone stands as proof enough that what I say is possible. If he, a human and soul reaper both, was able to acquire the powers of a hollow, then how is it impossible for another human to do the same?"
Nel narrowed her eyes and returned her lance to her side. "While there is a point to what you say, that it is possible for Orihime to acquire the powers of a hollow, there is still the fact that such an action is completely against the real Orihime's nature. It is something she simply would not do." she pointed out.
"Perhaps." the woman said with a nod. "However, that would only be the case if she had a choice. Which, I'm sure you can imagine, she did not." she returned, her fanged grin widening.
The former Espada's eyes narrowed further. "What do you…" Then it clicked, and her eyes went wide in horror. "No… He didn't!" she said under her breath.
But Ichigo heard and turned to her in slight confusion. "Did what? You mean Aizen?" Nel swallowed in fear of answering and the teen turned back to the other woman. "What the hell did that bastard do now?! Did he do something to Orihime?! Tell me!" he demanded. The woman only began to chuckle in a dark tone, and he again turned back to his partner. "Nel, what the hell is going on? What did that bastard do?"
Nel swallowed again and slowly turned her gaze down to him. "The Hōgyoku… Aizen used it…" She paused and returned to the woman across from them. "He used it… on Orihime." she said in a quiet, shuddering voice.
The substitute's eyes went wide with a gasp before snapping back to 'Orihime'. "He did… what?!" he breathed.
The woman chuckled again and held a hand out towards Nel. "Finally figured it out! Well done, Nelliel." she mocked, lowering her hand to her hip. "Yes, Lord Aizen used the Hōgyoku. At first, he truly just wanted the bitch out of his way, but saw no real reason to kill her. In fact, the reason he didn't want to kill her was because he was intrigued with her special powers. Lord Aizen is a very intelligent being, but frankly, even He was at a loss as to the origins and potential of her powers. It was something, she was something he wanted to closely examine. So, he made plans to have her captured, alive. At least that was the original objective when Ulquiorra and his team left Hueco Mundo for the World of the Living."
The woman sighed with a shrug. "But, a better idea came to mind sometime between the infiltration mission and her actual capture, because from what the other Espada told me, the 'capture alive' order suddenly switched to a 'capture 'dead'' order." She shrugged with her free arm. "After that, she was brought here to Las Noches, kept under guard for a little while, then he used the Hōgyoku on her, and here I am." she finished while a chuckle.
Ichigo growled in fury while Nel narrowed her eyes again. "So… you are saying that… Orihime is dead?" she questioned through clenched teeth.
"Hmmm…" 'Orihime' pressed a finger to her chin. "Well… not dead, so to say. I guess you could say that the bitch is still 'there', but also not." she said with another shrug.
"Explain that! What do you mean?!" the teen demanded, ready to charge again.
"Put simply, the Hōgyoku 'created' me, and mixed me with her soul. I have no idea how it works, nor do I care to learn. All I care about is that it did work. Originally, she was still kinda in control of the body, but I quickly subjugated her and took over, locking her away deep inside where she cannot cause any trouble. So yes, your Orihime is still here, in a manner of speaking, but in a place that you could never hope to reach her."
"No!" Ichigo roared, getting both womens' attention. He threw his arm out as he continued his rant. "You're lying! You're not Orihime! You're just some Arrancar that bastard Aizen made that looks like her!"
Nel shook her head and pointed her lance at the woman. "If what you say is true, then prove it. Show us proof that this is indeed the real Orihime's body." she challenged.
"Yeah! Show us something to prove you're not lying, witch!" the teen added.
The woman's face contorted as the widest grin came to it. "You want proof? Alright then. Perhaps the 'real Orihime's' own power would suffice."
Raising her blade high above her head, the duo felt the woman's spiritual pressure suddenly increase immensely. A vortex of wind and debris began to surround her as the pressure continued to increase. Within seconds, Nel felt that the woman's spiritual pressure was nearly on par with that of an Espada, yet still it climbed. A second later and she could swear the woman's power was comparable to that of Grimmjow's.
"By the way…" she spoke out from the vortex."It infuriates me to be called by that bitch's name, so I will tell you mine. I suppose you do deserve it a little. My real name is Artiélla Kova…" She turned and gave Nel an evil look. "And it will be the last one you will ever hear: for while I cannot kill the brat, you are another matter, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. Reject all existence… Shun-Shun Rikka."
Before they had a chance to react to the all-too-familiar name, they were forced to brace themselves as the woman's spiritual pressure exploded outwards, threatening to push them back. Ichigo shielded his eyes with his sword arm, while Nel simply lowered her head, using her hollow mask instead while keeping a tight watch on the area for any sudden attacks. When the whirlwind finally subsided and the pair were able to once again see their foe, both were shocked beyond belief at the woman's new appearance.
No longer did she wear the traditional white pants, shirt, and overcoat of the Arrancar; instead, she now wore a pristine, pure white, flowing dress with wide sleeves and even wider bottom. A fine chain flowed around her arms and down to her hands, connected by a metal ring on the back of her hand. Thin white leather straps followed a similar pattern from her calves to her feet, ending at the equally white slippers on her feet. Upon her head now rested a shining, bone-like tiarra. All of this was highlighted greatly by the large, feathery white wings that spilled out from her shoulder blades; and though they did not flap, nor make any movement at all, they still held her aloft nearly ten feet from the ground. But even her wings were overshadowed by the six large metal 'wings' arranged in a six-pointed star behind her. Each of the 'wings' were nearly three feet in width at the base, and narrowed to fine points at the end, similar to arrowheads. The star of wings slowly rotated like a wheel as they floated at her back. The overall appearance of the woman gave her the look of a fallen angel, and though she no longer held a weapon in her hands, Nel and Ichigo did not believe for a second that Artiélla was defenseless.
Both of them were in awe of her appearance, and fearful of the vastness of the spiritual pressure she now possessed, but what really shook them to their core was the name she called out upon the release of her power.
"What… What did you say?" Ichigo breathed in horror, one that Nel felt as well.
"Shun-Shun Rikka… She called it Shun-Shun Rikka… just like… Orihime's." she followed.
Artiélla sneered down at them with a throaty chuckle. "Oh, recognized that name, did you? I figured you would. Buuut… just in case this is not proof enough for you, why don't I show you a bit more?" Without so much as a gesture, one of the metal wings behind her lifted out from the stack and pivoted in the air, the point now pointing towards them. "Zanshun."
The tip of the wing suddenly glowed a bright yellow and fired a beam of powerful energy at him. The teen had no chance to react, and the beam would have hit him square on, had it not been for the extensive reflexes of Nel. Before he knew what happened, he was suddenly being held in the air by his midriff in the crook of Nel's elbow, now standing several yards away from where he was only a split second ago. The attack came so fast and without warning that, had it not been for Nel, he was sure that it would have done great damage, if not outright put him out of the fight.
"Holy crap…" he said in a shocked voice.
Nel let the teen back down to his feet with a nod. "I agree. If it wasn't for the sudden killing intent I felt from her, I doubt even I could have reacted fast enough. She's faster than before now." she said in worry.
Suddenly, like the one before them, two more of Artiélla's wings broke off and pointed towards the pair, one at each. Knowing what was coming this time, Ichigo and Nel had enough time to react and dodge the incoming attacks. "Two of them?!" the teen wondered aloud.
"Of course." Kova answered. "What? Did you think her, or rather my powers would be the same as before? Please, as if. How about a little more?" At her words, a third wing lifted and turned towards Nel.
Seeing this, Ichigo yelled loudly. "Nel! Look out!"
Snapping her eyes and seeing the impending attack, the former Espada vanished in a buzz of sonído, reappearing behind her opponent, lance pulled back. Artiélla smiled with a chuckle. "Kesshun"
Just the original Orihine's power, the three remaining wings that had not attacked pulled away to form a triangle and erect a large yellow barrier between her and Nel. The wing that was targeting her before instantly snapped around and fired. Not expecting this, Nel had no chance to evade and took the counter fully. With a grunt of pain, the Arrancar was launched back and sent flying into a nearby pillar.
"Nel!" Ichigo called out in worry.
"Like I just said…" Kova began, regaining the teen's attention. "My powers are by far vastly superior to that bitch's power."
Ichigo heard another buzz and turned to see Nel standing next to him again. Though she bore a few more scrapes from the last attack, he was glad to see she was not badly hurt. "You okay?" he asked, getting a nod back.
"That was stupid of me. I have seen Orihime use her barrier once before, and knew that it was powerful, but yet I still went after her without realizing that her barrier would be far more potent. Not to mention that I did not expect to turn at me so quickly. I think we have a serious problem here, Ichigo." The teen nodded in agreement to that.
"So, do you believe me now?" Kova taunted, regaining their attention. They noticed that all of the wings that had attacked them were now back in their places behind her. She held her arms out wide as she continued. "Do you believe now that I am the Orihime you sought after? That you foolishly came to Las Noches to 'save'? Or do you require more proof?" she continued with a cackle.
"Damn you… Shut up! We're not done yet. I don't know how, but we'll defeat you, and find a way to get you out of Orihime's body and bring her back." he shouted with a shaking fist.
Artiélla burst out laughing at his words and shook her head. "Defeat me? You could not even manage to do more than put a tiny scratch on me before, and now, with my power fully released, you intend to defeat me? How laughable. Frankly, it would surprise me immensely if you even managed to hit me now, let alone do any actual damage to me. Besides…" Her dark grin returned. "Even if, by some miracle, you were able to defeat me, it wouldn't matter. I am a part of her soul now. She and I are now one being, one entity. We are entwined. If you kill me, you kill her as well. There is nothing that can separate us now. As I told you before; I AM Orihime. There is nothing you can do to save her now. So even if you defeat me, there would still be nothing you can do. Face it brat, your friend is gone, never to return."
"I said, shut up!" Ichigo roared. "Even if what you say is true, then we'll just have to beat you and take you back to hat-n-clogs. He'll know how get you out of Orihime's body for good."
Kova then started laughing loudly, almost hysterically. "Urahara? Seriously? I will give you credit that he is a smart man, brat, but even if he is the creator of the Hōgyoku, even he could not fully understand it. Take a step back and think about it, stupid. He has had over one hundred years to come up with a way to rid those friends of yours that call themselves 'Visoreds' of their hollows…"
Ichigo's eyes went wide at her words. "Wait… what are you…"
"What?" Kova interrupted. "Did you think Aizen was not aware of them still being around? Or that you have spent the last couple of weeks training with them to keep your hollow on a leash? Oh, we knew. But, going back to what I was saying; Urahara has had a hundred years to get rid of their hollows, yet he has not. Why do you think that is? It's very simple: he can't!" Ichigo flinched at her words while Nel growled lowly in anger. "And if he cannot help them, what makes you think he can help your friend? Like I said, there is nothing that can be done."
"Is that so?" Nel asked under her breath, but Kova heard and turned to her to nod.
"It is." she confirmed.
"... I see…" Raw, pink spiritual pressure began to emanate from the former Espada's body and the fur of her equine lower body stood on end. "Ichigo…" she called getting his attention. "Do not hold back any further. Fight with everything you have… We must end her." she spoke in a whisper.
His eyes went wide in shock. "What? Nel… what are you talking about? You… You can't mean…"
"She is right." she interrupted. "Even I knew about Shinji Hirako and the other Visoreds, and what had happened to them. If Kisuke has been unable to help even one of them over the past hundred years… then there is nothing he can do to save Orihime. I'm sorry, Ichigo, but I would very much rather see Orihime dead… than remain as that witch's prisoner. We would only prolong her suffering by leaving her as she is now. Not only that, but seeing as how she has all of Orihime's powers, and far more powerful as well, then we simply cannot leave her alive to assist Aizen and the Espada. We must kill her, here and now."
Ichigo shook his head and glared at Artiélla. "But… we can't… It's… It's Orihime!"
"Was Orihime, Ichigo. She may still be there, deep inside, but it is as I said; she is now nothing more than a prisoner locked inside her own body." She turned to look down at him with a sad smile. "I… I know it is beyond difficult to comprehend doing such a thing, so… I will understand if you must step aside and not be a part of it."
"Nel… is… is there really no… no other way? Is there… nothing we can do?"
"..." She couldn't answer, only offer silence.
"Fine… I understand. Then… I'll be the one… to do it."
Nel's smile fell to a frown. "Ichigo…."
"No. She's… She's my friend… so I should be the one to help her. I don't care what it takes, I'll do whatever I need to to save her. If… If killing her will save her from what Aizen did to her… then that's what I'll do. Will… Will you help me… Nel?" he asked, looking up into her eyes.
Her smile returned and she nodded. "Of course. Don't forget, Orihime is my friend too. So I'll do whatever it takes to help you, and her." She turned back to Kova and frowned deeply. "But we cannot hold back at all. She is powerful now; at the level of a mid-tier Espada at the least. It will take everything we both have if we are to stand a chance of defeating her. We can have no doubts, nor any regrets, or we will fail. Can you do that, Ichigo?"
He turned to his opponent as well and sighed. "I don't want to do this, but… you're right…" Raising his hand to his face, he swiftly pulled it down and it surprised Nel a bit to see a hollow mask appear over it. When he spoke again, it was in a deeper, ghostly tone. "I'd rather she be dead than be trapped like this. But, that doesn't mean I'm not gonna try to help her somehow. Who knows, maybe Kisuke will find something different about her, and Shinji and the others. Something he can fix. So I'll give it everything I've got."
Getting over her surprise, she nodded and turned back to Kova with a sigh. 'I don't have a choice either.' she thought to herself. 'I've given it everything I have so far. There's nothing more I can do while I'm restricted like this. If we are going to have any chance of defeating her, then…'
She raised a hand to the collar around her neck when Gamuza spoke up. "This again? I told you before, Nelliel, don't even think about it." she hissed.
"I have no choice. There is literally nothing more I can do like this. This stupid collar of Kisuke's is taking away so much of my power. If I had to guess, I only have about a fifth of my true power right now. You saw it yourself, that is nowhere near enough to defeat Artiélla. I will need everything to beat her. And don't bother trying to deny it."
The spirit scoffed and nodded. "I'm aware, but need I remind you that this damned collar is the only thing keeping your spiritual pressure stable? Not to mention that the thing is already starting to fail, and neither of us have any idea what will happen when it does break, or you remove it. At this point, your spiritual pressure could fall apart completely before you even have a chance to fight the bitch. Did you think about that?" she pressed.
"I know, Gamuza!" Nel snapped back. "But I'm willing to take that chance."
Gamuza growled deep in her mind. "Maybe you are, but I am not! I say we get out of here and deal with her later."
"Don't you see it, Gamuza?"
"See what?"
"We can't leave. Artiélla is set on killing us, and Ichigo has no chance of stopping her on his own. Even if we run, she will not let us leave. The second we try to leave, we are dead. And with only a fifth of our power available, there is nothing we can do. Either way… we are dead if we don't use everything we have. And I know you can see this." Nel pointed out.
The spirit scoffed again and shook her head. "Damn it. I am loath to admit it… but you are right. So… what? You take off the damn collar and hope your spiritual pressure stays intact long enough to take care of her?"
"Pretty much. What else can we do?" She sighed and turned to her partner. "Ichigo…" she called. "Don't hold back."
With his nod of understanding, she gripped the collar in her hand and yanked it off. In a fraction of a second, raw, familiar power flooded her body. Ichigo went wide-eyed at the sudden increase and had to brace himself from the force of it, being so close to her. He could feel that her power somehow more than doubled, then doubled again. For Nel, she could feel the strain her spiritual pressure was giving off; the pain she felt in her body in trying to handle it, and it was taking a lot out of her just trying to bear it. She could tell that if she didn't deal with her opponent and get the collar back on quickly, whatever was happening to her would soon complete its course.
"Ichigo…" she called in a whisper. "Outside of her power, she is of the belief that we would not try to do her irreparable damage, therefore hurting Orihime as well. If she starts to feel that she may lose the fight, she may become bold and try to convince us that we are doing nothing more than hurting Orihime. Do not listen to her. No matter what, do not let up. We must finish this as quickly as we can. Understand?"
The teen sighed and nodded. "... Yeah. You ready?"
She nodded back and the two instantly vanished in sonído and shunpo. Artiélla grinned and chuckled. "Finally ready to get serious? Well, bring it on. Time for the real fight to begin. This time, I won't be be fighting just to entertain myself. This time, one of you will die."
"I don't think so."
Ichigo then appeared behind her, sword held high and swinging down towards her back. Artiélla scoffed and did not even have to flinch to bring one of her metal wings over to block the attack. The wing stopped his blade and she chuckled while glancing over her shoulder at him. "Really? Is that it?"
"Getsuga Tenshō."
His blade rapidly and briefly glowed a sinister black before everything exploded. Normally, Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshō would release a powerful wave of raw spirit energy in the direction he swung when using it and explode upon contact with something; however, because he was already locking his blade with one of Artiélla's wings, instead of launching said beam, the beam simply exploded then and there.
The explosion kicked up dust and debris around them, obscuring them from view. "Please… that was so pathetic. Was that supposed to hurt me?"
"No, it wasn't." the teen answered, suddenly vanishing again.
"Justa Subsónica." Nel's voice came from in front. Three of Kova's wings broke off and formed her triangle barrier to stop the former Espada's charge.
A charge that never came.
"Lanzador Verde!" Nel quickly followed, this time from the left side.
"Getsuga Tenshō!" followed Ichigo, now on her right.
"Oooh, tricky are we?" Artiélla said as the previous barrier shifted to stop Nel's lance, while the last of the wings formed a second barrier to stop Ichigo's own attack. Nel's lance came first, hitting the barrier and struggling to break through, followed by the teen's attack a split second later.
"Nice try, but not…"
She was interrupted when Nel appeared right in front of her, fist pulled back. With both of her barriers occupied, Artiélla was forced to use her own hands and arms to block the punch. She stopped Nel's fist and grinned at the centaur woman. "As I was saying: Nice try, but not enough."
"Don't be so sure."
Kova snapped her eyes behind her again to see Ichigo there about to swing down. With one of her barriers's still holding back Nel's lance, she called and used two of the remaining three on her other side to point and fire a dual Zanshun at the teen. But when the beams hit him, they simply passed right through him.
"You missed." Ichigo taunted.
With Kova stopped by brief surprise, Nel pulled back and buzzed away. At the same time, her lance ran out of kinetic energy and began to fade away, slowly reappearing back in Nel's hand again. Looking around, Kova saw that there were now at least seven or eight Ichigos appearing, vanishing, and reappearing in random spots around her.
"But I won't." the teen said, his voice distorted from coming from multiple, varying spots. "Getsuga Tenshō!"
All around her, Artiélla saw the Ichigos all raise their blades to fire another beam of energy. The question was, from which one? All at once, the Ichigos swung down and Artiélla pulled all six wings up around her in a circular shield. But once again, no attack came.
"Justa Subsónica!"
Kova heard the lance hit one of her wings long before she heard the sonic boom from the centaur's charge, and while the wing was pushed aside from her hit, it held just enough to deflect Nel's charge and alter her course enough to miss her. Nel's charge continued past Kova, and unable to stop, she collided into a distant pillar in an explosion of dust and stone.
It turned out Ichigo's own attack was another farce when he was suddenly in front of her again swinging. Three of Kova's wings darted around and formed another barrier just before his attack connected, without calling the barrier's name.
"What the…?" he breath in mild surprise.
Artiélla sneered. "What? You thought I had to actually call out to form my barrier? Think again, brat."
With that, the other three wings rose up, pointing right at him and firing a trio of Zanshuns. "Getsuga Tenshō!" he quickly returned, the attack exploding instantly again.
Fortunately, the explosion was enough to disrupt the Zanshuns and help him gain some distance, but Kova found herself under attack again from a recovered Nel. The woman charged forward with her lance, hitting one of the attacking wings that quickly reacted to block her. The already formed barrier shifted as well to block another close-quarters attack from Ichigo on the opposing side, but this Ichigo proved to be another fake. Nel then pulled back and gained some distance before throwing her lance again. Pulling her formed shield around, Kova intercepted the lance and used another wing to block a charging punch from the woman.
Two more Ichigos appeared from the left and rear, and Artiélla was forced to use her last two wings to block them. "Got you!" a third Ichigo growled from above. Kova snapped her gaze up and was able to use the hierro of her arms to block the attack, but froze with slightly widened eyes when she saw his finger pointing at her…
A sinister, blood-red mass of energy collecting at the tip.
"Cero."
Artiella , all six wings occupied, had no chance to stop it. With a low buzz, the cero fired from his hand and hit her pointblank. Ichigo and Nel quickly lept back from the resulting explosion and landed side-by-side several yards away. The teen glanced at his partner and asked in a low voice. "Think I hit her?"
Nel shook her head slowly. "If you did, I doubt it did much. And how is it you can use a cero?" she questioned.
"Shinji and the others taught me how to control my inner hollow and use it. They also showed me how to use a cero, but all this happened before they could train me to use it completely. To be honest, I'm surprised that one worked. Don't tell Rukia. She's likely to kill me for being reckless. "
Nel shivered a little at his voice. It sounded, to her at least, like if darkness itself possessed a voice. "Well, at the very least, that attack proved my suspicions."
"Oh? And what suspicions are those?" Kova asked, and the pair looked to see her walking out from the cloud of dust. Much to their surprise, though light as it was, the teen's last attack was able to do some damage to the woman.
Ichigo narrowed his eyes in a growl of disappointment. "That while those wing things of yours have amazing defense, they can only cover so much ground. We just have to keep tricking you into putting them where we want you to." Nel answered.
Kova raised a brow at that. "Oh? Is that so? I have to give you credit, it is good thinking on your part; but before I continue, I also have to admit I'm also surprised. I did not expect you to be able to use ceros, not to mention ones with such power. If I were some weaker Arrancar, I might have confused it for a weak Gran Ray Cero."
Ichigo raised a brow. "A what?"
She snorted at his response. "You don't know what a Gran Ray Cero is? God, you are an idiot. Were it not for the fact that Aizen wants you alive, plus that using it here would essentially erase Ulquiorra's palace from existence, pissing him off at me, I would show you what it is. But I digress. Going back to your plan, as I said, it's not a bad one, except for one small problem."
Nel narrowed her eyes in worry. "And that would be?"
The dark grin returned to Artiélla's lips. "I never said I was restricted to just six wings."
At her words, all six of her wings hovered above her head in a line. Their centers began to glow a dull golden color, then the glow spread out along the center to form a line from back to tip lengthwise. The glowing grew brighter and brighter, then suddenly went out. With six loud 'snaps', each wing broke in two. After all six snaps, Artiélla now had twelve wings floating around her.
Ichigo and Nel's eyes went wide in horror. "Oh….crap."
Nel slowly shook her head. "This is not good, Ichigo." she agreed.
The teen sighed heavily and glanced at his partner. "Well, at least now we know she can be hurt. We can do this."
"About that…" Kova interjected, getting their attention. "It seems you have forgotten one key detail. Kisshun."
The pair's eyes went wide in horror at the name, and their morale fell even further when two of the new wings turned to point at Kova and a very familiar barrier appeared around her. As The pair had seen times before on others, all of Artiélla's injuries, small as they were, began to rapidly heal and vanish. Ichigo clenched his teeth in fury; fury at himself for having forgotten about what he and everyone else equally considered to be Orihime's greatest power: her healing barrier.
"Damn it…" he growled. "This just got so much harder. How the hell are we going to beat her if she's just going to heal herself everytime we get a hit in?" he seethed.
Nel nodded once. "I agree. It would seem this battle has turned into one of attrition. The only thing we can do now is keep fighting and hope her spirit energy runs out before ours."
"Except for one problem; Orihime's healing power also replenishes lost spirit energy as well." he reminded.
Nel couldn't help growling as well. "Damn! So it is a war of attrition she cannot lose to. And now that we have to deal with twice as many of those wings of hers, I fear this fight has become a near impossibility."
"You still don't see it, do you?" Kova spoke up, her healing completed and the barrier now gone. "The true reason why Aizen created me?" she pressed.
Nel growled again and pointed her lance at the woman. "Explain." she hissed.
"As I told you, Aizen had no intention to harm the bitch, at first. But I guess he must have thought her to be a better use in his army than yours. Of all the powers and abilities that the soul reapers had, it was the powers of a human girl that he feared the most. The ability to heal any injury? Possibly even reverse death? Who wouldn't want such a power in their army?! Aizen saw her as the soul reapers' strongest asset in this war, so he decided to take her, and make her his asset. You know the saying: Two birds, one stone." she answered with a dark laugh.
"That… bastard!" Ichigo hissed through his teeth as he fought to keep his anger from exploding further.
"I think we have talked enough. I have seen your cero, so…" Artiélla held up a hand, her palm facing towards the pair. "Why don't I show you one of mine." The pair gasped as a mass of golden energy formed in her palm. "Cero."
Ichigo dodged left while Nel went right as the woman's cero launched and struck the ground where they stood, creating a massive explosion. Both of them were shocked at the amount of power behind the attack, but refused to let that shock slow them. The battle restarted, and Ichigo and Nel were quick to join in. The former Espada, after getting some distance, charged at Kova through another Justa Subsónica, while Ichigo used shunpo to bring back his 'clones'. They had intended to try and tie up Kova's wings again to open up a weak spot, but the woman had already played this game.
With a buzz, Artiélla used sonído, surprising the pair yet again, and reappeared behind one of the Ichigos with one of her wings ready to fire. Fortunately, it was one of the afterimages and the beam simply passed through. But quick as lightning, she buzzed away and was behind a second Ichgo only a moment later. Another fake.
"Tsk. So annoying. Did you learn this trick from your Visored friends as well?" she grumbled, forming a barrier and blocking Nel's thrown lance, then a second to stop the woman's following cero.
"Actually…" the teen began, and Artiélla used a third barrier to block a Getsuga Tenshō while using a bare wing to block his blade. "I figured this one out on my own when I first unleashed my Bankai." he continued, drawing back and firing another Tenshō. Kova's barrier simply shifted a bit to stop this one as well. "My hollow powers just makes it easier to use."
"I'm impressed…" Kova said while buzzing away to avoid Nel's Justa Subsónica. The former Espada came to a stop, twisted her body, and immediately threw her lance at Kova's new position. Again, the attack was stopped by one of her barriers. "Such a technique can only be used by those who have mastered your flash step." She blocked another Tenshō, then a second, a cero from Nel, and then a third Tensho, all in a fraction of a second. Through all of it, she did not so much as raise a finger. "But as I said, it's annoying."
Six of her wings rose up above her head and began pointing different Ichigos around her, firing at each one that appeared while the remaining six continued to protect her from the duo's attacks. Finally, after a moment of blocking their attacks and firing at afterimages, she grinned when she hit the right one at the right time to hit the teen. Ichigo grunted in pain from the hit, but pushed on. Unfortunately, he was slowed down just enough for all six of the wings to turn to him and fire.
"Ichigo!" Nel yelled in worry. With a buzz, she was suddenly between him and the incoming attacks with her lance held up to protect herself. The six beams of golden energy hit her lance and she struggled to keep her guard up. Her four hooves scraped against the ground as the force of all six beams pushed against her.
"Getsuga Tenshō!" the teen yelled, firing his signature attack at the wings that were attacking Nel, only for a barrier to appear and intercept it. Nel couldn't hold her guard any longer, and she cried out in pain as her guard broke and the six beams struck her. She was sent back off her four feet to crash into the ground in a small explosion. "Nel!" Ichigo yelled in worry.
"Worry about yourself, brat." Artiélla sneered, turning her back to him again.
The teen vanished before they had a chance to fire, appearing right in front of Kova. "Damn you!" he raged mid-swing, only to have it blocked again. Leaping back, firing a Tenshō as he did, he began using shunpo again to create more afterimages.
"Oh, I don't think so." Artiélla said with an evil grin, turning three of her overhead wings towards a recovering Nel.
"Crap!" Ichigo hissed, coming to a stop between Nel and Kova just as the wings fired.
"Got you!"
To the duo's shock, five of the woman's wings now surrounded the teen, four on the ground, and one overhead. Before he could react, he suddenly found himself trapped inside a pyramid-shaped barrier. "Shit!" he yelled as he began beating and pounding on the barrier to try and break free, but it was no use.
"Ichigo!" Nel yelled, now back on her feet.
"Now that he is out of the way, it is time I deal with you!" Artiélla sneered, her palm held out towards the centaur. "Cero."
Nel growled with narrowed eyes as she dashed to the side in avoidance. Pulling her lance back, she threw it at her opponent, watching as it was caught by another barrier. Using sonído, she appeared on the opposing side with a cero ready. She fired, only for yet another barrier to appear, resulting in a large explosion that obscured both women from outside view. All the while, Ichigo continued to pound on the barrier trapping him, but with no success.
"Damn it!" the teen raged, slashing at each wall of the barrier, but to no avail. "That cheap…" He continued to try and break free while keeping an eye on the fight. The only possible good thing about his situation was that by keeping him pinned here, it also kept five of Kova's wings occupied. But that still left seven of them for Nel to deal with. His eyes went wide when Nel was locked in a barrier block with her Justa Subsónica, two of the remaining wings appeared behind her, their tips glowing a golden yellow. "Nel! Behind you!"
The centaur woman's eyes went wide as well, sensing the wings behind her and knowing she couldn't break away in time. The wings fired, and Nel felt incredible pain flood her back as she was sent crashing into the ground again. Kova began to laugh loudly while Ichigo yelled in fury.
"Finally put you down." Kova mocked with a fanged grin. Buzzing away a short distance, she looked down at the former Espada with a sneer. "Really, I thought you would be more of a challenge. I guess I was wrong."
"Damn you! Let me outta here! I'm gonna beat you to a pulp!" Ichigo yelled while pounding on the barrier.
Artiélla scoffed and glanced over her shoulder at the trapped teen. "Honestly? Why would anyone let you out when you say you will 'beat them to a pulp'? Do you think me to be that stupid? Please. Now shut up, while I finish dealing with her." She turned back to a recovering Nel, who was struggling to get back up.
"You get away from her! Damn it! Orihime! If you can hear me, don't let that bastard do this! Fight her! I know you can do it!" he pleaded.
His words made Kova laugh and she turned back to him. "I told you, your little friend is locked away deep inside her own mind. No one can help her. And besides, even if she could somehow fight back, what can that pretty princess do to me? Huh? Nothing! Her body is mine. Her power is mine. She is mine! Now, sit down and…" A sudden throb of pain in her head stopped Artiélla mid-speech and she held a hand to the side of it. "What the…"
At that same instant, Ichigo noticed the glow of the barrier fade in brightness for a brief moment, then return to its original hue. But unlike Kova, the teen wasn't confused. There was only one thing that could have caused this. His hope returned, he started to yell out again. "Orihime! I know that was you! You can do this! You can fight her! You just gotta believe that you can! I know you can! Beat her!" he yelled.
Artiélla snapped her angry gaze towards him in a snarl. "How many times do I have to say it?! That bitch is…" She was then hit with another flash of pain in her head, and she held the other hand to her head as well. "What… What the hell… is this?!"
"Come on, Orihime! You can do it! Fight!"
"Justa Subsónica!" Suddenly, Nel was there in another charge; but this time, to the duo's surprise, no barrier stopped her attack. The tip of her lance struck true and Artiélla was sent flying into a nearby pillar with a crash. With a buzz of sonído, Nel was standing before Kova again. "Yes! Fight, Orihime! It is your body, your power! She took them both from you…" Raising her front legs, she stomped down on the woman's chest, causing her to gasp out in pain. "Now take them back!" the centaur yelled, stomping again.
Ichigo hated seeing Nel hurting Orihime's body, but he knew it was necessary. To his joy, he saw the light of the barriers dull again, and he wasted no time in striking it with all his might. His hope flared again when his attack left cracks in the barrier wall, and with two more strong hits, the barrier broke. Oddly, the five wings that had kept him imprisoned did not go back to Kova, they simply dropped to the floor, unmoving. Choosing not to worry about it now, he used shunpo to appear before Kova's downed body.
"Come on, Orihime!" he urged with a shaking fist. "You've got this!"
"Yes! We know you can defeat her. Fight her, Orihime." Nel followed.
Kova was yelling loudly, shaking her head left and right and clutching it tightly in her hands as the pain grew inside. She began kicking her legs out wildly, and Ichigo and Nel had to back up a bit to avoid being hit. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and darted to the pair. With a loud scream, she sent the seven wings near her at the pair, making them leap back even further. With a flap of her actual wings, she launched herself off the ground and into the air. The seven wings she sent at them, along with the five that held Ichigo before, immediately returned to their mistress and surrounded her on all sides.
To the duo's shock, Kova encased herself in a large barrier, then a few seconds later, suddenly stopped screaming and moving. She didn't move, or make a sound, she simply froze in place. Nel and Ichigo then watched as the barrier surrounding Kova began to get smaller, shrinking down all around her. Smaller and smaller it got, until it looked like she would be crushed by her own barrier. It surprised them when the walls of the barrier began to press into her body… and pass right through it. It continued getting smaller, until it was less than the size of a basket-ball, and continued to get smaller. The barrier grew so small that it disappeared from sight at her chest until it was gone.
Silence filled the room, and no one made a move or sound. After several moments, the floating woman's eyes opened again and she gazed down at the pair. Ichigo swallowed, and chanced calling out. "Or… Orihime?"
Nel gripped her lance tighter, keeping herself ready for anything. She nearly flinched when the other woman smiled at them and held her arms out wide. "Oh, Ichigo…" she said in a sweet voice. Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to walk towards her, until he heard her next words. "I told you that bitch could never defeat me."
Before they could react, all twelve of her wings pointed at them and fired. Ichigo and Nel both cried out in pain as the wings continued to fire over and over again like an artillery barrage. "I'll admit…" Kova began as she continued to assault the area. "I never expected that bitch to fight back again, especially with how hard she did. That princess of yours has got some fire in her, but nowhere near enough to challenge me! But don't worry."
She grinned evilly. "She is completely sealed away now. Trapped in a real prison of darkness. A place where neither sight nor sound can reach her. Honestly, you should have left things as they were before. At least then she was aware of her surroundings, but now she will know nothing but silence and darkness. But hey, look on the bright side…"
She stopped her barrage and allowed the dust to flow away to see the pair down on the ground with numerous injuries. Her grin turned to a malicious smile as she watched Nel's resurrección fail and her body return to its original form. Like before, five wings surrounded Ichigo and trapped him inside another barrier. Raising a hand towards Nel, Kova began charging a cero in her palm. "At least she won't have to watch your friend die. Unlike you, brat. Cer…"
"Hadō #43, Arashi Katto!"
Palace of the Sexta Espada, 15 minutes prior
"Take a left up at the next corridor." Grimmjow instructed.
Timothy nodded and came to a stop to peek around the corner to ensure no one was around. After confirmation it was, he signaled with his head for them to continue. "So, how you doing, Grimm?" Tim asked as his group rounded the corner into a long hallway.
The Sexta Espada that his zanpakutō partner now alone assisted, per said Espada's 'request', scoffed through his teeth and gave the Lieutenant an annoyed look. "Just peachy." he grumbled, then glanced at Kit and gave her a sly grin. "Though I do feel better the more your vixen here keeps me up." he teased with a flash of his brows.
Kit rolled her eyes and smirked back. "Oh? It wouldn't happen to be because you've got your paws on my sexy body now, would it?" she teased back, making Tim roll his own eyes.
"I swear, you really have no shame." he mumbled.
"Hey!" the spirit snapped, glaring at her partner. "Just because he has his hands on me, it doesn't mean I'm gonna sleep with him or anything. I've got a sexy body, one that I'm proud of, and one I'm not afraid to show off. Simple as that." she insisted, raising her nose and flicking her tail at him in disinterest.
"Bullshit. We both know you're doing this just to annoy me." Tim grumbled.
"Nope. It's the truth. The fact that it also bothers you is just a bonus. Kekeke" she returned with a snicker, one that Grimmjow shared.
"Damn, Tim. This vixen has really got you by the balls, doesn't she?" the Espada taunted.
Tim snapped his gaze to the Espada with a growl. "Shut up, you damn cat! And don't think I'm stupid. I know you're feeling well enough to walk on your own two feet now. You stopped limping twenty minutes ago."
"We know." the duo replied and nodded in unison.
The Lieutenant slapped a hand to his face and rubbed his temples. "God, you are such a pain most days. What happened to you, Kit? You were never like this when we were alive. Something's changed about you."
She shrugged it off. "Oh, calm down, crybaby. You know I'm just teasing you is all." She defended. Timothy suddenly stopped walking, making the duo stop as well. He stood there, neither talking nor moving. Kit tilted her head in confusion. "Tim?"
"I'm serious, Kit." he said in a low tone, then turned around to face her directly. "I've noticed ever since we first arrived in the Rukongai that your behavior and mannerisms were a little different. For a while, I just took it as a coping mechanism, a way for you to help get over what happened to us; but after thirteen years, it's only gotten worse."
She frowned. "Sometimes people change, Tim."
He shook his head in disagreement. "Not like this, Kit. Don't try to blow me off like that. Yes, you liked to tease sometimes when we were alive, and yeah, there were times when you would do something…. 'flashy'; but now? Like I said, it's gotten worse. And the thing is, is that I know you're aware of this as well."
"Uh…" Grimmjow interjected in confusion. "What are you two talking about?"
"Not now, Grimm." Tim snapped with a glare before turning back to Kit. "Kit… I'm worried about you. And I'm not just saying that, I'm genuinely worried that something is wrong here." he pleaded.
Kit's ears fell back against her back and her head lowered. She was silent for a moment before she finally responded. "You're right." she said in a quiet voice. "I don't… I don't know what it is, or what happened, but…" She raised her gaze back to meet his, and he was a bit surprised by the saddened look in her eyes. "Something changed. It's hard to explain, but… but when I woke up on that day in Rukongai, I felt… different. Before, I teased and did dumb things for the same reason just everybody else did; to have fun every now and then. But that was it, just here and there. But after waking up, it's like… It felt like that was all I wanted to do, to tease and flirt, even at the expense of others.
"I've been trying to fight it, Tim, all this time I've been trying to fight the urge to just… let loose. But every once in a while, I just… lose control for a moment. I stop caring about how others would feel and just enjoy myself. And ever since I met Yoruichi, with her own teasing nature that was similar to mine… it just got so much harder to keep control. I just… blank out, for lack of a better term. I lose all inhibitions and just… act. It feels like something inside just… takes over. I can't explain it better than that." she said, then lowered her head. "I'm sorry."
Timothy's head dropped as well and they stood in silence for a moment before he spoke up. "Why didn't you ever say anything? You know something like this isn't something you should hide, especially from me. Your partner."
Her head snapped back up with a growl. "Because you had your own problems to deal with, Tim!" she snapped, making him flinch. "We had both just been killed, I was turned into a sword spirit, and then there was just trying to survive in the Rukongai! When was it ever a good time to tell you?! Considering everything else that has happened to us up to now, I kinda thought a slight, but not dangerous, change of habits was kinda low on the list of important things to deal with, dontcha think?!"
Timothy sighed heavily and nodded. "When you put it like that, you do have a point. But still, were you ever planning on telling me? Or were you just going to ignore your partner and continue to try and deal with it on your own?" he challenged in a growl.
"I don't know!" she yelled back. "Maybe, maybe not. What does it matter? It's not like it hurts anyone, right?"
He raised a questioning brow at her. "Oh really? Then what about the times you teased Nel so bad that she about lost it? Huh? I'm going to go on a limb here and guess that those were a few of the times where you lost control like you explained?"
Kitsune sighed and reluctantly nodded. "Yes. Though not at first. At first, I was just teasing a little, but nothing bad. But… then at some point…"
"You blanked out and the teasing got worse." Timothy finished, earning a nod.
"Yeah. I really didn't mean to do it. Honestly." she pleaded.
Timothy sighed and nodded. "Alright. When we get back, we'll talk with Kisuke. See if we can find out this is reversible. We might not be able to return you to a human soul, but maybe we can help the changes to your…. mannerisms. Okay?"
She nodded back and smiled slightly. "Thanks, Tim." Her partner nodded back.
"So… what was that all about?" Grimmjow asked again in annoyance.
Timothy sighed and shook his head. "Something personal between me and Kit. Don't worry about it."
"Tsk. Fine. So are the two of you ready to get going again? Or do you have more of these 'personal' problems to talk about?" he grumbled.
"No, at least nothing that needs to be worried about right now. Right now, we need to focus on getting out of here and back to the other palace." the Lieutenant said with another sigh.
"Why don't we ask Grimm to just open a garganta for us?" Kit asked.
Timothy shook his head as they came to the end of the corridor. "I'm not sure if it's a good idea. Don't ask me why, but I get the feeling Aizen knows Grimm's helping us now. And if that's the case, then you can be sure they're watching for him to open a garganta and track him."
Grimmjow scoffed and waved him off. "Hate to break it to you guys, but you've been watched ever since you and your friends got to Las Noches, maybe even before that."
Kitsune narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean? Neither Tim or I have sensed anyone watching us."
"One of Aizen's lackeys. His name's Rudbornn. He's got eyes on just about every inch of this place, and most of the area surrounding Las Noches. And nothing gets past him. Trust me, he knows you're all here, and if he knows…"
"Then Aizen knows." Timothy concluded, getting a nod from the Sexta. "So… it was a trap after-all. We all suspected it might be, but now we know for sure."
"But still, it doesn't change our plans to save Orihime." Kitsune reminded him. "We just have to be more careful now, seeing as how we're being watched, even right now I would guess."
"More than likely." Grimmjow confirmed.
"So…" Kitsune continued. "It doesn't really matter if they're watching for Grimm to use a garganta or not. Even if they weren't, they'd still likely know where we went anyway. And the time we spend here wandering around is time that could be spent looking for Orihime. Right? So I think we should use Grimm's garganta." She turned and flashed a grin at the Espada. "With his permission, of course."
He grinned back and chuckled. "I don't know. Whatcha got to offer for my… 'assistance'?"
She raised her gaze with a low hum. "I'm not sure. I'm sure I'll think of 'something'."
Grimmjow laughed aloud and pulled her in tighter. "I can work with that. So I guess you two wanna get back to Ulquiorra's place, right?"
Annoyed with their antics, Timothy rolled his eyes and nodded. "It's the only lead we have of where she could be. Not unless you have any idea, Grimm."
The Espada shrugged. "I know Aizen put Ulquiorra in charge of watching her, so yeah, his place is where I would guess she is. Who knows? Maybe your friends already found her." he offered.
"Considering how everything has worked against us so far? I'd doubt it." Kitsune grumbled.
"Agreed." Timothy added. "Alright, wanna get us out of here, Grimm?"
The Espada scoffed, but nodded. "Yeah yeah, fine." He raised his hand, ready to swipe through the air to open the dark portal, but froze and snapped his gaze to the side, a serious expression on his face. "What the…"
Timothy narrowed his eyes in worry. "What's wrong?"
Grimmjow was silent for a moment, then growled. "I think some of your friends might be in trouble." he warned.
Kitsune gave him a worried look. 'Why do you say that, Grimm?"
"Cause someone just released their resurrección, and going by their spiritual pressure… I'm guessing it must be Aizen's new follower."
"New follower?" Timothy asked in confusion.
Grimmjow turned to meet his eyes. "Yeah. Some new guy that showed a few days ago. None of the Espada know who this guy is, or even what he looks like. Keeps a cloak on that covers his face and all. But whoever the guy is, he's powerful. Just by being in the room with him I could feel that he was around Espada level in power. And this guy's in the same area as your friends are now, and he just released. Trust me, Tim, this guy is no joke."
"Shit!" Timothy hissed under his breath. "Can you get us straight there through the garganta?"
"I can…" he confirmed. "But since none of us, even me, know anything about this guy or what he can do, it'd be better if arrived a short distance away and go the rest on foot. It pisses me off, but I have to admit that I'm not ready for another fight just yet."
Timothy nodded firmly. "We'll deal with that later. For now, we need to go help the others. Open the garganta, Grimm."
"Tsk. So needy. Fine." He flicked his hand and the air before them ripped open to reveal the black abyss of the garganta. The trio quickly stepped through the portal with it closing behind them. After it closed, on the far side of the corridor, Ulquiorra stepped out from around the corner, gazing at the spot where the trio had been only a second before.
"So, they go to contend with our new comrade. It would be best I not miss this. Lord Aizen would surely wish to know how our new comrade performs in battle, and I may be able to see how exactly this new ability of Timothy Durn's works." he commented silently to himself before opening his own garganta and stepping inside.
Not long after, Timothy's group found themselves exiting their dark portal into a large, open hallway filled with pillars. Keeping their guard up, the trio looked and listened around to ensure they were alone. Thankfully, it didn't seem like anyone was nearby so they let themselves relax a little.
Timothy turned to Grimmjow and asked quietly. "So, are we back in Ulquiorra's place?"
The Espada nodded once, still looking around. "Yeah. I dropped us off on the first level, since this is where I felt that spiritual pressure. If that guy is fighting your friends, it's gotta be here somewhere."
"Yeah, I can feel it now." Kitsune agreed. "He's right. Whoever this person is, he's here on the first level, and not that far away. I can also feel Nel's spiritual pressure… and…"
At her pause, Timothy turned to her with a raised brow. "What's wrong?"
She narrowed her eyes in concentration. "I don't know. Nel's spiritual pressure feels… weird. It's familiar, but…. different."
"She's right." Grimmjow confirmed. "I've known Nel for a while, so I know what her spiritual pressure should feel like, and something's off about it now."
"And she's the one fighting this new guy?" Timothy asked, getting a nod from the Sexta.
"Yeah, it's her alright. That orange-haired kid's with her too. Both of them are fighting this guy, and judging by how their spiritual pressures feel right now, I'd guess they're going all-out."
"Damn!" Timothy cursed, turning in the direction where he could feel the spiritual pressures coming from. "Alright, let's get going and give em a hand."
"Hey Tim…" the Espada called, getting the Lieutenant's attention. "Don't forget what I said. Aizen wouldn't hold this guy in high regard for no reason. Whoever this guy is, he's no joke."
Timothy nodded and turned to Kitsune. "Ready to go play, Kit?"
The spirit gave him a fanged grin. "Do you have to ask?" she returned, then turned her gaze to Grimmjow. "Sorry, sweetie, but it looks like it's time for me to go to work. Maybe later I'll let ya give me a back rub." she teased.
The Espada snorted and pulled away from her. "Lookin forward to it, vixen. So what do ya say? Shall we go dance?"
"Kekeke. Absolutely!"
With that, she vanished to return to Timothy's inner world as he drew his zanpakutō. "You good enough to fight, Grimm?"
"Tsk." the Espada scoffed. "That's a stupid question. Let's give this guy a pounding." he returned, drawing his own weapon as well.
Nodding, Timothy vanished through shunpo, followed immediately by the buzz of Grimmjow's sonído. It took only moments before they were only a few 'steps' from the fight ahead, when Timothy came to a sudden stop, forcing Grimmjow to stop as well. "What's wrong?" the Espada asked in annoyance, eager for the fight.
"I don't know. It could just be my head screwing with me, but… I can swear I feel Orihime's spiritual pressure up ahead." he said in a low voice.
He heard Kitsune gasp inside his inner world. "We found her?!"
The Lieutenant narrowed his eyes in deeper concentration. "I… can't be sure. It feels like her, but… but also not. Something's wrong."
Grimmjow blinked and looked in the direction the fight was. "I can't tell ya if you're right or wrong, Tim. I only met the girl a couple times, definitely not long enough to memorize her spiritual pressure. So I'll just have to take your word for it. But shouldn't we be rushing over there to find out for sure, and to help your friends?" he questioned.
Timothy was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't like the feeling I'm getting about this." he answered, turning his eyes to the Espada and speaking in a whisper. "Suppress your spiritual pressure, Grimm. We go the rest of the way in quietly and hidden. We'll observe what's going on from the shadows first, then decide our move."
"Tsk. In case you haven't noticed Tim, I'm not exactly the kinda guy that does good with sneaking around." the Espada grumbled with crossed arms.
"Figure it out then." Timothy snapped. "You said it yourself that this guy is no one to fool with, so it makes sense to observe and learn what we can before jumping in. Now, let's go."
The Lieutenant turned and began running out to the side in the direction of the fight, leaving Grimmjow to growl lowly. "Smart-ass bastard." he grumbled, then took off as well after Timothy.
The two of them ran as quietly as they, listening as the sounds of fighting grew louder with each passing minute. After five minutes of running, they could finally see the flashes of different attacks and some resulting explosions. Keeping themselves hidden, the pair came to a stop behind a pillar on the outskirts of the battlefield, and Timothy was relieved to see that, while they had looked better, Ichigo and Nel were both alive and aright, for the moment. The two were fighting an unknown person that he had never seen before, a woman, judging by the person's figure and clothes. She had her back to them, so he was unable to see her face just yet.
"Is that the 'guy' you were talking about, Grimm?" he asked in a whisper.
The Espada narrowed his eyes and answered a moment later. "Yeah… that's definitely him… or her I mean. Damn, never expected it to be a woman."
Timothy rose a skeptical brow at him. "You mean you didn't know it was a woman? I thought you met her before?"
Grimmjow snarled at him in anger. "Hey! I never actually saw the bastard's face, Tim. And the one time that I heard her talk, it was so low that there was no way to tell. So you'll have to forgive me for not knowing. Idiot."
The Lieutenant rolled his eyes and turned back to the fight. "Whatever. You did manage to get one thing right; this girl ain't no joke. Ichigo's just as, if not stronger than I am, and Nel was the Quinto Espada. If the two of them together are having hard of a time fighting her, then we're in trouble."
"Well, then what are we just standing here for? Get your ass in there and help them, Tim!" Kitsune snapped.
"I would, but there's still one question: Where's Orihime? I can feel her nearby, but… where?" He looked around quickly, trying to spot the teenage girl. "You see her anywhere, Grimm?" The Espada didn't answer, so Tim turned his gaze to see the man's eyes were wide. "Grimm?"
"What… the fuck?" he breathed out.
Timothy blinked in confusion. "Grimm? What's wrong?"
The Espada slowly rolled his eyes to the Lieutenant, a ghostly expression on his face. "I think… I found your friend, Tim."
"Where?!" Timothy snapped, quickly looking around.
"Carrot-top and Nel are fighting her."
Timothy froze and turned back to him. "Do… what?" he gawked.
Grimmjow pointed a finger towards the fight. "Ichigo and Nel are fighting her."
Snapping back to the fight, Timothy saw that Grimmjow was pointing at the woman his friends were fighting, and nearly fainted from shock. "What… What the holy fuck?!"
Sure enough, the person Ichigo and Nel were fighting was none other than Orihime herself. Yes, her clothes were different, even the large white wings on her back threw him, but when looking at her face, there was no denying it, it was Orihime. Even when she spoke, her voice was exactly the same… except that now it sounded more… sinister.
"Tim… what the hell is going on?! Why are they fighting?!" Kitsune asked in worry.
"I don't fucking know! I'm just as freaking lost on this as you are!" he snapped back, turning towards Grimmjow. "What the hell is this, Grimm?! What is going on here?!" he snarled.
The Espada quickly held his hands up in surrender. "How the hell should I know?! This is a shocker for me too, Tim!"
"Tim…" Kitsune spoke out in worry. "That woman… the spiritual pressure Grimm told us about is coming from her… so is Orihime's."
"...What?" he thought in shock.
"I don't know how, but… there's two spiritual pressures coming from her. One's Orihime's, and the other is something else… something evil."
"But… how can that be?"
"...Aizen… He's done something…" she answered in a fearful tone.
Timothy clenched his teeth and snarled. "That… motherfucking… I swear to God, I'm going to kill that bastard!" he hissed.
A hand rested on his shoulder and he snapped his gaze to see Grimmjow giving him a serious look. "Worry about that bastard later; right now, something's up with that woman." he said, pointing a thumb back towards the fight.
Looking back, Timothy saw the Orihime look-alike having some sort of… seizure. She was yelling out in what sounded like pain and kicking her legs wildly. "What's going on?" he wondered.
"Tim, I might be wrong, but… I think that really is Orihime, and whatever it was that Aizen did, I think she's still there, and trying to fight back." Kitsune commented.
Timothy narrowed his eyes, then nodded. "I think you're right… I think she's fighting back whatever happened to her."
They continued to watch as the woman struggled, until she formed a barrier around herself. The barrier began to shrink around her, until it vanished inside her body. After a moment, she stopped her yelling and flailing, and it seemed at first that maybe Orihime had won.
Until those metal wing things hovering around her suddenly started firing beam after beam at a stunned Ichigo and Nel. Timothy growled under his breath and turned to Grimmjow. "Make your way around to the other side of the field. Quietly, and don't get seen. Wait for my signal, then jump in and drop the hammer."
The Espada nodded, then took off. Turning back to the fight, or rather the slaughter, Timothy flinched when the barrage stopped and he was able to see the result. Ichigo and Nel both were in terrible shape, barely alive by the look of it. He saw her trap Ichigo in another barrier, then raise a hand towards Nel and begin charging a cero.
"Damn it! Grimm, you better be ready!" he hissed, stepping out from behind the pillar and throwing an open out towards the woman..
"Hadō #43, Arashi Katto!"
Not expecting a sudden attack from the shadows, there was no barrier in place to intercept Timothy's kidō. A transparent gale of spirit energy crashed into Artiélla, sending her flying into the same pillar from before.
"Now, Grimm!"
There was a buzz, then a bright blue light as the Sexta appeared overhead, his hand held out and a mass of blue spirit energy in the palm of his hand. "Cero!"
The attack was launched, and still stunned from Timothy's surprise attack, Artiélla couldn't defend herself. The area exploded and the pillar she crashed into was nearly vaporized in an instant. With a buzz and a whisp, Timothy collected Nel, while Grimmjow broke the barrier holding Ichigo, and all four vanished to reappear a short distance away.
Nel was unconscious, so Timothy set her up against a pillar, while a conscious Ichigo was set back down on shaking legs by Grimmjow. "Damn it… Thanks for the save, Tim. Thought she had us there."
"She did." the Lieutenant hissed, turning to Grimmjow. "Keep her busy for a minute." he instructed, getting a nod as the Espada buzzed away. Turning back to the teen, he sighed. "Give it to me straight, Ichigo… Is that woman…"
The teen lowered his head and nodded. 'Yeah… It's Orihime. Or was. Aizen did something, and now there's a hollow in control of her body. She's still in there… but that bitch is just too much for her."
"We saw. It looked like she was trying to fight back, but lost. Me and Grimmjow will handle her, can you keep an eye on Nel for me?" Timothy asked.
Ichigo nodded firmly. "Yeah. Be careful though, that bitch has the same powers Orihime does, but much, much stronger. And don't let those metal wings surround you, or she'll trap you in a barrier." he warned.
Timothy grinned and snorted. "Please. Unlike you, I have the means to escape if she tries. Can she heal too?"
Ichigo narrowed his eyes. "Why do you think we've been having so much trouble with her?" he snapped.
The Lieutenant nodded back in understanding. "Got it. Just stay with Nel, we got this. But Ichigo… if Grimm and I can't subdue her…"
"I know…" he said with a tightened fist. "Do what you need to, just… just make sure she won't be Aizen's pawn anymore."
They stared at each other in silence for a moment, then Timothy nodded. "I'll do everything I can to avoid it, I promise." he assured, then vanished.
Back on the field, Grimmjow was having a difficult time breaching the now recovered Artiélla's defenses. While he was held back with her barriers, Kova had another barrier around her, healing herself. But instead of getting angry or annoyed, the difficult fight was actually amusing the Sexta Espada, the laughter of enjoyment filling the air.
"Oh yeah! First Tim, now you? Two great fights in one day? I'm so happy I could cry!" he yelled, swinging his zanpakutō at the woman, only for it to be blocked again.
Artiélla scoffed with a look of annoyance. "So, you turned traitor as well? Oddly enough, this does not really surprise me. Even having only briefly met you, I could tell you were the kind that tends to cause trouble." she returned, using her wings to fire three Zanshuns at him.
Buzzing away from the attack and reappearing at the side, he swung again and was deflected by another barrier. "I'll tell ya like I told Tim; I never cared about what Aizen wanted or his little army, I just wanted the fights he could give me. Cero!"
The barrier blocked the resulting explosion that launched the Espada away from her and she scoffed in annoyance. "Then it looks like I get to put an end to two Espada today." With that, five of her wings began targeting the elusive Sexta as he landed, then started running around her.
"Don't forget about me!"
Her eyes turned to the side as she blocked an attack from Tim. "Believe me, I haven't. Cero." His eyes widened a fraction in surprise, not expecting her to be able to use ceros, but recovered quickly and flashed away. "Sadly, like the brat, Aizen wants you alive, so why don't I deal with you first."
Timothy appeared a few yards away and grinned. "Let's see you try. Tease, Moeru Kitsune."
His blade began to glow, then reshaped itself to its shortened released form as multiple flames started to appear around the entire field. Artiélla scanned the field and scoffed at the display. "Aizen told me about your Shikai; how you are able teleport either yourself or others using these flames of yours. I will grant you that this will be tedious to fight against, but nothing more than a simple annoyance." She turned a wing towards him and fired. As expected, he disappeared in an instant, reappearing at a flame several feet to the left.
"Oh, you'll see that Kit's power is more than a 'simple annoyance'." he countered as he swung, launching a fireball at the woman.
Kova scoffed again and effortlessly blocked the projectile with a barrier, then another projectile with a second. Over and again, Timothy appeared, launched a fireball, vanished, then appeared somewhere else to repeat. But it wasn't just Timothy's attacks she had to deal with; with every other attack the Lieutenant sent, Grimmjow would jump in with an attack of his own. After only the first minute, Artiélla was already getting mad at the piecemeal attacks.
Seeing Grimmjow coming in for another attack, she snarled and flicked her hand towards him. Faster than seen before, five of her wings flew towards the Espada, and before he could react, he found himself suddenly trapped in a barrier like Ichigo had before. With his forward momentum, he slammed into the wall of the barrier with a pained grunt. "Now, stay put!" she snarled, then growled in fury when she saw a flame appear in the barrier with him, then Espada vanish with a grin on his face.
"Sorry bitch, but it looks like that trick's not gonna work for you anymore." Grimmjow taunted from his new position to her right.
"Damn it!" Kova fumed under her breath, blocking yet another fireball.
"I told you…" Timothy began, launching more fireballs. "Her power is more than an annoyance." He changed positions and lobbed another. "Ichigo and Nel had a hard time with you…" Another fireball and another attack from Grimmjow forced Kova to use her barriers endlessly. "But that's because their fighting styles are not suited for someone like you."
Artiélla clenched her teeth with a snarl, blocking another fireball. "And I suppose you're going to say that yours is?" she said, blocking a sword swing from Grimmjow and turning her eyes to him. "Well then, why don't we make this a little more fun?" To the Espada's surprise, the three wings that formed the barrier blocking him broke in half once more. The three new wings turned and their tips glowed a golden yellow.
"What the…?!" the Espada spoke before the wings fired on him.
"Grimm!" Timothy yelled in worry, not stopping his barrages. But he, too, had issues, for it wasn't just the three wings forming the barrier that multiplied, but all of them, the number of wings available to Kova instantly doubling in number to twenty-four in total.
"I'm fine." Grimmjow answered, appearing a short distance away from Timothy's current position. At a quick glance, the Lieutenant could see that, while not seriously injured, the Espada did not get away unscathed. "What the hell was that? She can make more of those things?"
"Looks like it. Things just got much harder for us. Let's hope she can't make more than she has now, or we're fucked." Timothy replied. "Are you able to use your resurrección again?"
The Espada scoffed and shook his head. "Nah. I'm not recovered enough. Honestly, I'm giving it everything I can as it is."
"Damn. Look out!" With a buzz and soundless vanish, the former enemies disappeared as multiple beams of energy struck where they had just been. Reappearing, Timothy growled under his breath. "Looks like we're gonna have to step it up." "Ready, Kit?"
The spirit snickered and nodded. "Oh yeah, let's do it!"
Bringing his zanpakutō forward, he grasped the blade with his other hand. "Bankai!" he commanded, twisting his wrists and snapping the blade from the hilt. "Furasshu hi Kitsune Hime!"
Well, Ichigo and Nel are out for the count, let's see how Tim and Grimmjow do. What do you all think? Let me know. I hope you all enjoyed the battle so far, and if you have any suggestions to make it better, PM me. See you all after the holidays, and once again, Happy Holidays!
P.S. The pronunciation for Kova's name is Ar-tee-ale-la.