Disclaimer: Ben 10 and Bleach do not belong to me.
Hey, everyone. Hope you all have been doing well. Everyone had a good Christmas and having a good New Year so far? As a fan of the Kamen Rider Franchise, I got the entire DVD collection of the 1973's Kamen Rider V3. I've really come to love this franchise, it's just awesome. Other than that, one of my relatives is getting married and my family's making plans to attend the wedding.
Sorry for taking so long in this update. I actually meant to write two chapters and post them back to back. But due to how long this chapter is, I decided to go ahead and post it on its own.
Thanks again to Vandenbz and Pyromania101 for their editing. Always appreciate it.
Battle for Karakura Town:
Part 5: Reunion
The lone sound was that of a bell, which hung directly above Baraggan, who sat up on his throne on an elevated platform. The king was resting his head on his right hand, staring off into space. To his left were the footsteps of one of the servants, a female Hollow with a humanoid body and mouthless mask that sported six dots. On the right half of the mask, the dots ran beneath her eye and down to her chin. On the left, the dots ran above her eye up to her forehead. Her Hollow hole was visible in her stomach. In her hands was a pitcher of water that she started to tilt over Baraggan's goblet. She froze when Baraggan raised his left hand.
"Take it away," he said dully, not bothering to look at the servant as she bowed and stepped away from him. Sighing, Baraggan tilted his head. "I find myself bored. Hmph, how tedious. An entire army at my disposal and for what? What kind is an army to command when there's no enemy to fight? Don't you agree?"
Lowering his head, Barragan gazed down the flight of stairs leading from his throne to a tiled crimson floor, where an assortment of Hollows were on their knees, bowing. They continued bowing, not raising their heads until they were called upon.
"I ask, but I suppose none of you would be daring enough to disagree with me."
And why should they? He was their king, their god; his word was absolute.
Just then there was a great cry of agony amidst the crowd. A large Hollow had been split right down the middle. Those gathered before Baraggan started rising to their feet.
"W-what happened?"
"Gagamel was killed!"
Baraggan himself remained seated, more curious than shocked. He didn't have long to ponder who could have killed the Hollow when three figures appeared in the middle of the assembled Hollows. They wore white coats over black robes and swords at their sides.
"W-who the hell are they?!" One of Baraggan's soldiers exclaimed. Another one charged at the intruders, swinging his fist to punch them when the one on the left, with an orange bandana and white goggles that seemed to hide his eyes from view, unsheathed his blade. The Hollow's head was promptly cut right down the middle, similar to Gagamel. The other Hollows flinched in shock at how swiftly their comrade was taken out, but soon their fear gave way to anger.
"Unforgivable!"
"Get them!"
"Wait." The Hollows turned in confusion at their king's command. "I'm curious to know who these three are."
The intruder in the middle, with messy brown hair and glasses, stepped forward. "This is the first time I've met you. My name is Aizen, Sosuke Aizen. You are the ruler of Hueco Mundo, Baraggan Luisenbarn, correct?"
"Indeed I am," Baraggan answered, looking them over. The third one had short, silver hair with his eyes closed and a thin, snake-like smile on his face. "But who are you? Hmm. You're obviously not Hollow since you don't have masks. Are you human? Or perhaps Soul Reapers?" The king waved his left hand. "Oh well, it doesn't really matter to me. Your presence here should alleviate my boredom. Had you not come, I would have divided my army in two and had them fight to the death. I suppose I shall bid you welcome for the time being. Welcome to my palace of Las Noches."
The Soul Reaper with the goggles let out a scoff. "A palace with no roof or walls? It would appear that the king of Hueco Mundo has a sense of humor."
Baraggan chuckled smugly back, sweeping his hands across the surrounding rubble and ruins. "What need have I, the king, for roofs and walls? The sky of Hueco Mundo itself is the roof of my palace."
"That's enough, Kaname," Aizen said somewhat firmly as the one named Kaname opened his mouth to retort. "Let us not waste time on idle chit-chat."
Kaname looked back at Aizen. "I apologize, sir."
Aizen brought his attention to Baraggan again. "I'll be direct, King of Hueco Mundo. Would you look at my sword for a moment?" Aizen drew his sword, a katana with a hexagon guard and held it upside down in front of the Hollow King. "Its name is Kyoka Suigetsu."
Baragggan eyed the sword expectantly but nothing happened. A feeling quite similar to suspicion was forming in his mind. "What is this?"
"I have a question for you, King of Hueco Mundo," Aizen said, looking directly into the blackness of Baraggan's eye sockets. "Are you satisfied with the way things currently are?"
Baraggan looked up at Aizen sharply. "What?"
"Haven't you ever felt that the world isn't the way it should be? Haven't you ever thought about reaching newer heights? I can help you." Aizen smiled at him as he flipped his sword over. "All you have to do is obey me. Do that, and I shall grant you even more power."
Baraggan leaned forward slightly. "More power, eh?"
"That's right. I have a means of separating the boundaries between Hollow and Soul Reaper."
Baraggan shifted back in surprise at the declaration.
"By separating these boundaries," Aizen went on, "Hollows can become more like Soul Reapers, as much as Soul Reapers can become more like Hollows, allowing them to obtain greater powers than before. Not only will you obtain such power if you do as I say, Baraggan Luisenbarn, but I can even grant you another world."
Silence fell on Baraggan's palace as the king himself stared down at Aizen, who continued to smile at him. Then Baraggan threw back his head and let out a deep bellow of laughter.
"Amusing! How amusing! Greater powers? A new world? Don't make me laugh, you little ants! I am the King of Hueco Mundo! The King of this world! There is no power greater than mine! There is no new world, only mine!" He pointed at the three intruders. "Go! Crush these worthless ants for their insolence!"
Roaring with eagerness, Baraggan's forces converged on the intruders. As their enemies came down upon them, Aizen only smiled. "I see." He held his sword upside down again. "Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."
The world around Baraggan seemed to crack, as if he had been looking through a glass window. Before he could even try to ponder it, that glass shattered and the king of Hueco Mundo was treated to the sight of the three, mainly Aizen's two cohorts, obliterating his forces with ease. Baraggan was stunned beyond belief at the slaughter of his army while the intruders didn't bear so much as a scratch.
"What…" Baraggan rasped as he found his voice. "What is this?"
"This," Aizen answered smugly, still holding up his sword, "Is your world!"
"Damn you!" Baraggan roared, rising to his feet as he drew forth his mighty axe, Gran Caida.
"Quite ironic, isn't it, King of Hueco Mundo?" Aizen mused, not at all intimidated by Baraggan drawing his weapon. "Wearing such a weapon while donned in black. Why, you look quite similar to a Soul Reaper."
"Silence!" Baraggan thundered as he made to attack Aizen.
Yes. Yes, I will never forget that day. The day he came and took everything away from me. My throne, my palace, everything. All his now. I swore that I would kill him and reclaim what is rightfully mine! I would make him regret giving me power. I am a king! I am a god! I will never die! I will pursue you for all eternity, Sosuke Aizen!
But another face appeared. A young boy, not quite an adult, with brown hair, green eyes, a green jacket, and a gauntlet on his left wrist. Baraggan's raging fury at Aizen became a cold fury powerful enough to freeze Hell itself. Never before would Baraggan have believed that he would hate someone as much as Aizen. Yet that… brat… that worthless… insolent… blasphemous…
"BEN TENNYSON!"
Barggan shot up to his feet, his body staggering for a moment. Hastily he reached towards his head, flinching when he realized that a chunk was missing from the left side of his head, including his eye.
"D-damn you!" Baraggan seethed. "Damn you! You think you've won, Tennyson?! You think you defeated me! I will never die, especially not at the hands of someone like you!"
Hastily Baraggan looked around, seeing his crown sticking out from some of the rubble. It was still intact, perhaps it had fallen off his head when he had been struck by the boy's attack. Baraggan jammed the crown back onto his head, ignoring how crooked it was due to his wounds.
"I'll kill you first, Tennyson," Baraggan fumed madly. "Aizen may have Kyoka Suigetsu but even that won't save him from my power now. No, no, you have the honor of being deemed a greater nuisance than even him. Are you proud of yourself, Tennyson? This is what you wrought for defying a god. Oh, I'm going to enjoy removing you from my presence once and for all. And when I'm through with both of you, I will reach your universe and kill everyone you held dear! A new world for me to conquer, Aizen? I'll take Tennyson's! This time, no Way Big, or Diamondhead, or any other damned alien in that gauntlet will stop me! You caught me by surprise, human, but this time you die!"
Reaching into the folds of his cloak, Baraggan pulled out a small chest, slamming it onto the ground with his fury. The chest shattered, revealing a horde of spirit fruits from the Oasis.
"I bet you would love this, wouldn't you Tennyson? The fruits you helped create, serving my purpose now? I loathe the idea of these fruits being given to Hollows as cheap handouts, but the possibility that these fruits could grant me the power to end Aizen, and now you, is too good to pass up." He snatched up a fruit from the pile and began devouring it. "Thank you, Ben Tennyson, for your precious gift!" He dove back at the fruit pile, tearing it to pieces like a mad beast.
/*/
Nobody said a word as they stared up at the newest addition to their battle. The mysterious Kisuke Urahara; at least Ben could now put a face to the name. And with the way he was looking down at Aizen, face half covered by the shadow of his hat, he certainly looked mysterious. The Soul Reaper in question kept his gaze fixed on Aizen, who had now fully turned around to face him. Beside him, the Hollow Aliens began to crouch, ready to spring up at their master's attacker if need be.
"That's quite the curious-looking outfit you're wearing," Urahara said in a somewhat casual tone.
"Everything looks ugly in the midst of evolution," Aizen responded back, just as nonchalant.
"No one said anything about it being ugly," Urahara pointed out. "I see that you've gone and fused with the Hogyoku."
That observation brought a smile to Aizen's lips. "I wouldn't call it 'fusion'. A more appropriate word would be 'subjugated'." He narrowed his eyes at Urahara yet his smile remained. "I subjugated the Hogyoku that you failed to control."
Urahara's own narrowing eyes was the only form of emotion the Soul Reaper gave. "It's true that I failed to control the Hogyoku… in the past."
"In the past?" Aizen repeated in a tone filled with disappointment. "It's clear to me that you are unwilling to admit defeat. Although, it doesn't really matter whether or not you're willing to admit it, for you…"
Aizen disappeared in a great burst of Flash Step before appearing right in front of Uarahara, his zanpakuto impaling the other Soul Reaper right through the chest.
"Are already defeated."
Four Arms would have lunged at Aizen if Urahara's body had not suddenly exploded with a great pop, almost like a balloon that had burst. No one was more surprised than Aizen who stared at where Urahara stood with genuine shock. Finding a hand on his shoulder, he turned his head to see Urahara standing behind him. Aizen only had time to furrow his brow as Urahara chanted, "Rikujokoro!"
Four Arms couldn't help but grin as Aizen was now bound in that same, six-beam Kido spell he had been stuck in as Heatblast. "Ha! Not so fun when it happens to you, huh?"
"I remember now," Aizen said, ignoring the Tetramand and making the alien hero scrunch up his face in annoyance. "You used something like that when you fought Yammy, according to the battle records. I let my guard down because I honestly was not expecting you to use such a petty trick."
"Oh, like you're one to complain about using petty tricks!" Four Arms snapped at him.
"So, what do you plan to do now that you've bound me with this meager Bakudo?" Aizen asked Urahara, making the alien hero grit his teeth at being ignored again.
"'Meager Bakudo'?" Urahara asked coolly. "How much will it take before it's not meager anymore?" He pointed at Aizen with an open palm before closing it into a tight fist. "Bakudo No. 63: Sajo Sabaku!"
A rope made of yellow energy appeared, wrapping itself around Aizen like a snake. Urahara brought his arm vertically across his chest. "Bakudo No. 79: Kuyo Shibari!"
Eight black holes with slightly purple outlines began forming around Aizen, almost like an outline. His eyes widened as a ninth suddenly appeared right on his chest. Urahara then raised his other arm, the one holding his cane, and started to chant.
"Limit of the thousand hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky. The road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders."
Four Arms blinked as Aizen's eyes widened once again. As he wondered what this spell was capable of, Four Arms then became aware that the sky was darkening and what appeared to be ten rods made of pink light appeared around Urahara, whose green jacket began to flutter from the power they were emitting. Said Soul Reaper kept on chanting.
"Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, grey fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and clean when fired."
"Do you think I'm going to let you use a spell like that?" Aizen questioned, glaring at Urahara. "As if something like this cou–"
"Too slow," Urhara taunted him smugly. "Hado No. 91: Senju Koten Taiho!"
The rods of light shot at Aizen with the force of ballista, engulfing the Soul Reaper in an explosion that lit up the darkened sky, making Four Arms grit his teeth. The explosion reminded him a little too much of that rocket Bankai. "Please tell me that got him…"
"Wow," Ichigo said, staring at the smoke from the kido's explosion. Gin looked at it with the same, impassive expression he had when Way Big pummeled Aizen.
Harribel, Starrk, Shinji, and Nelliel all narrowed their eyes. The Hollow Aliens shared a look of panic and concern before drawing their attention back to the smoke.
"Well, Aizen," Urahara said, lowering his head so that his hat completely covered the top half of his face. "Looks like placing the Hogyoku inside of yourself has caused you to let your guard down."
"That is absolutely correct."
Urahara's head shot up, his eyes now widened in shock. He was already starting to turn around but…
"Too slow."
With a swipe of his left hand, Aizen managed to slash Urahara diagonally across his chest. The bucket hat-wearing Soul Reaper staggered back in midair as blood flew from his wound. Aizen had somewhat changed, the white substance from the Hogyoku further spreading over his clothes and now over the left half of his face like a mask.
Four Arms felt all four of his arms slacken in disbelief. That attack hadn't sped up whatever the Hogyoku was doing to Aizen, had it?
"I let my guard down because there is no longer any need for me to be on guard," Aizen stated in a condescending tone. "I can feel it. My body has indeed subjugated the Hogyoku and now all of my abilities, which were once unsurpassed by all in Soul Society, are beginning to reach even greater heights. Even level 90 Kido do not deserve to be avoided." Aizen turned his head and smiled at Four Arms. "I doubt even Way Big could hurt me now."
"Want to test that theory?!" Four Arms shouted back.
"I'm afraid I'm not familiar with this 'Way Big' you're talking about, but it seems you misunderstood what I meant."
Aizen turned his attention back to Urahara who, aside from dabbing at his cut, wasn't that bothered by his injury. "When I said that you let your guard down, I wasn't talking about you avoiding Kido. I was talking about how, in the past, you never would've come in physical contact with me without a plan."
Immediately after he said that, light began gathering around Aizen's wrists, surprising the sociopathic mastermind yet again.
"W-what are these?"
"A seal," Urahara said with a tip of his hat. "I have blocked off the Spiritual Pressure vents that are located in the wrists of all Soul Reapers."
A bead of sweat ran down Aizen's brow.
"You…" Urahara looked him square in the eye. "Will be incinerated from the inside out by your own spiritual pressure."
Aizen began to open his mouth but his words were cut off as his body was engulfed in a pillar of blazing light that shot high into the sky and darkened it yet again.
Shinji chuckled dryly. "That's Urahara for ya, always full of surprises."
"Incredible," Harribel commented. "I can see why Aizen often spoke of this man with something slightly resembling respect."
"Question is," Starrk said tensely, "Did that do anything?"
"As much as I wish it did," Urahara said grimly. "Since that would mean he was an ordinary monster, I'm afraid not."
"I'm not surprised," Harribel said, glaring up at the dissolving smoke.
On cue, Aizen emerged. The group gasped in surprise as the white substance covered his face completely save for his eyes, making them resemble white spots in a pitch black void. His outfit had also been changed to a full body cloak that split into four even sections around his waist. The Hogyoku was still visible, smack dab in the middle of a cross now present on Aizen's chest.
"What… the hell… is that?" Ichigo asked shakily.
"Let's not find out!" Shinji said, raising his blade.
Four Arms nodded, reaching for the Ultimatrix symbol.
Aizen looked down at them and while they could no longer see any facial expressions, his disinterest towards them was painfully obvious. He took one step–
And appeared right in the middle of their group, their eyes still fixed on where he had been previously standing. Urahara quickly turned around as the others all stepped back, raising their weapons in defensive positions.
"Goading me into attacking by using a level 90 Kidou as a decoy, then burning me from the inside out with a technique that you created. If it were anyone other than myself… no, anyone other than myself after having subjugated the Hogyoku, then this battle would've likely been over." Aizen dug into the substance around his left wrist and proceeded to pull out what appeared to be a metallic band, which he then held up in front of Urahara.
"Unfortunately, the Hogyoku that you created far exceeds your comprehension. This technique which you most likely developed in preparation for the battle with me, will not have any effect."
"Well, how about this?" A high-pitched voice squeaked.
Aizen turned just as a large blob of green slime struck him. The transformed Soul Reaper staggered back, swinging his sword wildly as a small UFO hovered beside the slime.
"What the hell?" Ichigo muttered again.
"Ben turned into Goop," Starrk explained.
So caught off guard by the assault, Aizen actually grabbed at the polymorphic alien, trying to yank him off. Part of the slime stretched away from Aizen, taking the shape of a large fist, and then snapped back like a rubber band which struck Aizen right in the head. The blow knocked Aizen off his feet. The traitor rolled along the ground as the slime began covering his entire body.
"Good job, Ben!" Shinji called, grinning at Aizen's humiliating state.
"How do you like that, Aizen?" Goop taunted.
Aizen pointed at the miniature UFO. "Sho!"
The UFO was sent flying, Goop's body becoming inert and sliding off Aizen. "Okay," Goop said meekly as his body formed a puddle near Aizen's feet. "I should have seen that coming."
Nelliel threw her lance at Aizen. "Lanzador Verde!" The lance began spinning, gathering up spiritual energy as it shot towards her target. Aizen raised his sword to block it, only to realize that Shinji was sneering at him, spinning his own zanpakuto again. Aizen turned to see Nelliel's lance coming at him from behind—
Only for Diamante to jump in front of the projectile, grunting as it drilled against his torso. Huecos Brazos grabbed the lance's handle with all four arms, bringing it to a sudden stop.
"Thank you, you two," Aizen said. "Now, dispose of them for me."
Nodding, Huecos charged at Nelliel with her own lance, only to be intercepted by Harribel. She swung her own sword, countering each of Huecos' attacks. When they crossed blades, Harribel forced her arm upward, knocking the lance from Huecos' hands. Nelliel leaped into the air, catching her weapon and descending towards her opponent for a stab. Vines shot out of the ground, wrapping her lower half up before she could connect. Starrk, swords of spirit energy in hand, slashed through the vines. The three Hollow aliens were about to attack when suddenly ice formed around their feet, spreading upward until they were encased in giant blocks. Big Chill emerged from the ground, crossing his arms at them.
"You three need to chill out for a while," he said.
"That's not gonna hold them long thanks to Fuego," Starrk said.
"Let's worry about Aizen first," Shinji told him. "Then we'll–"
"Shinji, look out!" Urahara warned.
Shinji had no time to raise his sword before Aizen's own slashed him across the stomach, the Vizard falling to his knees as he wrapped his free arm across his gut.
"Shinji!" Ichigo yelled worriedly.
"Alone, your abilities are nothing more than a mere child's game," Aizen said smugly to his former captain. "But when used in tandem with others, they can be a genuine nuisance. Be grateful that Orihime Inoue chose to follow Ichigo Kurosaki back with him. Since she's here, I won't bother killing you. Just lay there and watch my triumph."
A blast of freezing wind struck Aizen, ice forming along his body too.
"This again?" Aizen asked in boredom. "Freezing didn't work on me before, why should it work now?"
"Well, if you don't like it cold," a flash of green light, "Then maybe you like it hot!"
NRG grabbed Aizen in a bear hug. "Everyone! I got him, attack now!"
"Ben, what–" Nelliel started to protest.
"It's okay!" NRG said. "Hit him with everything you've got!"
"Don't mind if I do."
NRG paused, looking around. "Um, who just said—"
Something slammed into Aizen from behind, the force knocking the radioactive alien off his feet and thanks to being surprised by the sudden attack, he had let go of Aizen in the process. He slammed into the rubble, rolling onto his side.
Harribel was immediately at his side. "Ben, are you alright?"
"Fine, just a little dizzy," NRG muttered as he pushed himself up. "Now I know how the can in 'kick the can' feels. What hit me?"
Something shot out of the sky and slammed into the ground with a loud cry, creating force like a small earthquake, demolishing even more buildings.
"Uh, they're not gonna make us clean that up, are they?" NRG couldn't help but ask. Harribel was too focused on the newcomer to reply.
As the dust settled, the newest member to the party was revealed to be a slender woman with dark skin, gold eyes, and long black hair that was kept in a ponytail. She wore what was essentially a black leotard, a white scarf around her neck, and what appeared to be gray armored boots and gauntlets over black leggings and gloves. Yelling, she began relentlessly punching what was obviously Aizen, his body blocked from view by the dust the woman was kicking up with her assault.
When she finally ended her attack, she sneered down at Aizen. "Well? I thought you would at least…"
"Yoruichi!" Urahara shouted. "Get away from there!"
Yoruichi looked back at Urahara in shock just as a shockwave kicked up beside her. Her eyes widened as her left boot was destroyed. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she quickly shot backwards, joining Urahara's side.
Aizen rose to his feet. Cracks were spreading from the center of the cross where the Hogyoku lay to his sides, his shoulders, even up to his face like a fractured clay doll.
"Well?" he asked Urahara and Yoruichi as they looked at him warily. "What's the matter? You're not done already, are you? Quickly, reveal your next trick. I will grind each of them into dust until the very last one has gone to waste."
"Well, since you asked so nicely…"
NRG gasped as something else struck Aizen across the face, knocking him back. A blast of green light hit him, followed up by a beam of blue light. Before NRG could say anything, one of the larger chunks of debris suddenly became black before flying towards Aizen like it had a will of its own. Aizen sliced through the debris with one slash, only for a black blur to strike him in the gut, sending him crashing into one of the partially intact skyscrapers.
Seeing the attack made Yoruichi scoff but she had a playful smile. "Why couldn't you have been a few seconds sooner?"
"Sorry, Yoruichi. If we had known he was going to destroy your armor, we would have."
NRG gasped as a group of figures gathered around Yoruichi and Urahara. "Ken?!"
Ken Tennyson turned around, smiling at the younger, alternate version of his father. "Hi, Ben. Sorry we're late."
"We?"
NRG then got a better look at the others by Ken's side. One was a tall, muscular boy with black hair wearing jeans, a black t-shirt with a stylized red S in some sort of diamond. Next to him was a girl with orange skin and hair with bright green eyes, a purple skirt and top, with purple boots and gauntlets similar to Yoruichi's.
Beside her was a shorter girl with pale skin and the majority of her face covered by a purple hood. Ben could make out a gemstone in the center of her forehead however. Next to her was a dark-skinned teen wearing white and blue cybernetic armor that covered all but the right half of his face and some of his upper arms. The boy with the red S and the orange-haired girl were wearing similar gauntlets to Yoruichi and what appeared to be goggles over their eyes.
"Ben, meet some of my team: the Teen Titans. This is Superboy, Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg."
"Yes, it is truly a pleasure to meet you, younger version of Ben," Starfire said with a polite bow.
"Younger version?" Harribel asked, looking at NRG curiously.
NRG rubbed the back of his headpiece. "Yeah, see—"
"Save the explanations for later," the girl in the cloak, who Ben guessed was Raven, said as she eyed where Aizen had landed. "He's coming."
"Ah, the mysterious masked man who fought Yammy; and it seems you brought some friends."
The teen in armor, no doubt Cyborg, glared at him. "So that's the big bad Aizen we've heard so much about."
The teen with the S shirt, obviously Superboy, took a fighting stance.
"How amusing. Feel free to come at me any way you wish, you will all fall in the end."
"Wanna bet on that?" Superboy asked, cracking his knuckles.
Unconcerned with Superboy's courage, Aizen began walking towards Urahara and Yoruichi. The Titans all shifted into protective stances.
"The sheer number of tactics you created in order to defeat me is a testament to your strength and power. It also happens to be the number of hopes you have. As such, it is therefore my duty to crush every one of them. So reveal your next trick, Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihouin, Isshin Kurosaki, and your little ragtag group of newcomers."
"Wow, he really does like to ramble," Cyborg noted.
"Ha! It wasn't just me!" NRG chortled, then paused. "Wait a second? Why didn't he mention me?"
Ken and his team all looked at each other quizzically at that, however the Soul Reapers all kept their eyes fixed on Aizen.
"This is bad," Starrk said.
"What do you mean?" Nelliel asked, keeping her gaze on Aizen.
"Aizen was talking about the middle of evolution earlier so I'm guessing that this form he's in is like some kind of cocoon stage. If he manages to break out of it, who knows how much stronger he's going to become. That Urahara guy prepared so much stuff in advance and Aizen has shrugged all of them off. If Ben's right and Aizen really is trying to become a god, I don't think we can stop him."
Nelliel gave out a low gulp, the grip on her lance tightening so hard that it was amazing she hadn't broken the handle yet.
Ichigo's own hand was trembling and sweat ran down the side of his face, trying not to react as Aizen turned to look in his direction. He had heard everything Starrk had said. Was it true? Would Aizen become unstoppable?
"Ooooooooh dear, we are in quite the bind right now," Urahara looked over at Yoruichi's exposed leg. "That was a specially made armor designed for combating Hierro. I wasn't expecting it to break so easily."
Yoruichi narrowed her eyes at him, scowling in irritation. "What's that? Are you trying to say it was my fault?"
"Oh no," Urahara said in a lighthearted tone as he pulled out a fan of all things from his robe.
"Oh yes you were! You're trying to say it broke because I wasn't paying attention!" Yoruichi stood up and got directly in front of him. "Listen here, your product was badly made to begin with. The real reason it broke is because you weren't paying enough attention when you made it."
"Okay, okay, I get it!" Urahara said, sweat forming on his face as he tried stepping back from her.
"Are… are they usually like this?"
"Now and then," Ken admitted.
"I see," Everyone turned back to Aizen, who appeared to be gazing at Yoruichi. "For your leg to remain intact would suggest it is something special indeed."
Smiling proudly, Yoruichi put her hands on her hips and lifted her left leg, waving her foot. "You mean my leg, right?"
Hearing a flapping noise beside her, Yoruichi looked to her right and noticed that Urahara had his fan open in front of his mouth and looking at her in a manner that irritated her. Whether it was because Urahara was making fun of her or checking out her leg was hard to tell.
"What's that look for?!"
Urahara yelped as Yoruichi backhanded him on the nose in a way similar to Captain Soifon and her own lieutenant.
NRG would have made a comment again if the sound of Aizen's footsteps hadn't caught everyone's attention yet again.
"Enough ranting you two. It's pointless to argue about what's special." Aizen raised his blade. "If one of those pieces of armor should disappear with each swing, then swinging my sword three times should be enough to make your special items disappear into nothing."
Urahara and Yoruichi both became serious again. "Here he comes," the former stated.
"I know that," Yoruichi replied.
"Can you do it?" Urahara asked tensely.
"Who do you think you're talking to?" Yoruichi answered confidently. "I just have to make sure I strike him with anything other than my left leg."
Aizen took another step… and was suddenly right between the two. Yoruichi barely had time to turn, her eyes meeting Aizen's. Before anyone else could react, a shockwave erupted from where the two had been standing.
/*/
Ichigo stared at the explosion of the shockwave, his mind still trying to comprehend what had happened.
"Is that a good idea?" Ichigo felt like ice was running down his back when he realized Gin's voice was coming from directly behind him. "I've got you flanked."
Ichigo turned around, dreading an attack, only to nearly trip over himself as Gin turned away from him.
"Just kidding," Gin said lightly as he approached some of the larger slabs and proceeded to sit down. "How about we take a break?"
Ichigo glared at him and his sudden shift in mood. 'What are you saying?"
"Wouldn't hurt to relax so let's just watch," Gin said, looking up at the smoke in the sky from Captain Aizen's attack. "You know, Captain Aizen and I go way back and this is the first time I've seen him like this. Course that's no surprise since he went and absorbed the Hogyoku without anyone realizing."
Gin's smile grew at the look of unease on Ichigo's face. "You get it right? It seems almost likely that there's nothing you can do. They're all probably gonna die and so are you. The End."
"Like Hell I'll let that happen!" Ichigo said determinedly but Gin simply chuckled.
"How nice, I thought you might say something like that."
"You said 'probably', right?" Ichigo pointed out. "So you obviously don't believe Aizen's unbeatable in that form yet."
"Fair enough," Gin said, leaning back against the rubble. "Honestly I think it depends on what Ben does."
Ichigo was taken aback. "Ben?"
Gin's smile stretched, making his features more snakelike. "That's what I think this battle is going to boil down to: Captain Aizen's constantly growing power versus Ben's variety of aliens. Not to mention that Ultimate form he can do. Might even go something like Ultimate Way Big. Can you imagine what that would be like? Oh, right you weren't here so you don't know about him.
"Yeah, Ben can turn into this giant that took down the Second Espada and walloped Captain Aizen to the point he believes he might have died if he hadn't absorbed the Hogyoku. Can you imagine what the Ultimate form of something like that would be like?"
Ichigo was struck dumb by the implications.
"Course, there's also the chance that Ben's aliens are just gonna help Aizen get stronger and stronger. Unless…"
Ichigo's brow furrowed again. "Unless what?"
"When Ben was fighting Baraggan, the Second Espada by the way, he was accused of having other tricks like Way Big up his sleeve. When Ben didn't respond, Baraggan saw it as a sign that he didn't. I could tell though, Ben's got at least one more trick. Considering the fact he hasn't done it yet means whatever it is, it's extremely dangerous, even compared to Way Big. He might not even have control over it.
"If Captain Aizen keeps getting stronger, he might have no choice but to resort to whatever alien it is. Course, there's no guarantee that even this last resort will be able to beat Captain Aizen. If that happens, everyone will die."
Ichigo's anger, which had been rising the longer Gin talked, finally reached the boiling point. "And do you think you're going to be safe when that happens?"
Gin was honestly surprised by Ichigo's statement but his smile quickly returned as he rose from his seat. "Well now, I wasn't expecting you to say something like that. From what you just said, it sounds like you've resigned yourself to the fact that you'll die."
Ichigo flinched at Gin's words. Before he could even attempt a rebuttal, Gin had already resumed talking. "Could it be… that deep down you've already given up on this fight?"
Ichigo looked like he wanted to deny the implication but strained to get the words out. "That's—"
"How pathetic," Gin said as he drew forth his blade again. "And here I was hoping you would last a little longer in the end but it turns out you're a fragile little kid. Ben and those newcomers are willing to risk their lives for your home and here you are, throwing in the towel."
Ichigo flinched again as if Gin's words physically hurt him, while the Soul Reaper himself held up his sword. "There's no way I'm leaving a coward like you for Captain Aizen to deal with." He held his sword with both hands in the center of his chest. Ichigo couldn't make sense of Gin's pose when the wielder spoke once again. "Kamishini no Yari: Buto!"
Ichigo barely had time to duck as the blade of Gin's zanpakuto was above him in an instant. He looked over at Gin, his eyes widening as he saw that the blade had already reverted back to its shortened state.
"Kamishini no Yari: Buto Renjin!"
It wasn't just one attack this time, rather Gin's blade constantly extended, retracted, and then extended again, as if the Soul Reaper was unleashing a multitude of blades at once. The dust kicked up by the constant speed and ferocity of the blade obscured Ichigo from view. Gin retracted his blade once more to see what would happen. Ascending high in the air was Ichigo, now donning his Hollow mask. Gin simply grinned as Ichigo dove down to take the offensive.
/*/
Gathered near the injured, Orihime was looking over at where the battle was taking place. Or at least as best she could thanks to some of the few remaining buildings blocking her view. "Ben, Kurosaki."
"Dammit, I can't take this anymore!" Apacci suddenly screamed. "I don't care if I'm out of my league, if I can help Lady Harribel and Ben take that bastard down then I'm going!"
"Don't be stupid, Apacci," Mila Rose snapped. "You'll probably just get in the way."
"What did you just say, Mila Rose?!" Apacci hissed. "Think about it. If we can keep those Hollow Aliens off their backs then that allows Lady Harribel and the others to focus on Aizen!"
"As much as I hate to say it, Apacci does bring a fair point," Sung-Sun said. "Surely if we can allow all of them to focus their attention on Aizen, that should help their chances."
"Captain Unohana," Hachigen suddenly spoke up. "Can I ask you to look over the wounded for me?"
"You're going to assist them?" Unohana asked.
Hachigen nodded. "I understand that might be dumping all the wounded onto you but—"
"I understand," Unohana replied with a nod. "I will look after them."
"I'm coming too!" Everyone turned to look at Orihime, whose eyes were filled with determination.
"Orihime, I–" Hachigen started to speak.
"Please. I had told you before that I was going to fight but–" Orihime looked at the ground. "All I've done is be a burden to my friends. After everything Ben, Kurosaki, and the others have gone through for me," She looked back at Hachigen and a fire seemed to blaze in her eyes, "I want to be there for them."
Hachigen said nothing, simply studying Orihime. Then he slowly nodded. "I understand, Orihime."
Orihime smiled. "Thank you."
"I shall go too," Charlotte declared. "If there is any way I can help his majesty, I will gladly do so."
Apacci looked over at Unohana. "Are you sure you're going to be okay by yourself?"
Unohana smiled at her. "Thank you for your consideration but I'll be fine."
"Yeah, it looks like everyone is going to be o…" Apacci had started to look around the wounded, only to pause. The rest looked at her as she frowned, scanning over the collected wounded.
"What's wrong, Apacci?" Sung-Sun asked.
"Hold on a second," Apacci did another double check. "What the hell? We're missing someone!"
"What?!"
"Who?" Unohana asked.
"That one Soul Reaper with the cow tits," Apacci answered. "The one who was fighting Lady Harribel alongside that kid with the white hair."
"Rangiku?" Orihime looked around, her eyes growing larger as she let out a gasp. "She is gone!"
"But how?" Mila Rose asked, looking across the street.
"She must have slipped by when we were distracted by the battle with Aizen," Unohana said, frowning. "But where could Lieutenant Matsumoto have gone?"
"Do you think she might have gone to the battle first?" Mila Rose suggested.
"But why wouldn't she say something?" Orihime asked worriedly.
"We'll have to head there first and get answers," Sung-Sun said.
"Then we must hurry," Hachigen told them.
/*/
"How pathetic."
Ichigo was down on one knee, keeping himself upright with his right hand. His mask had already dissipated. Gin stood a few feet away, blood dripping down the tip of his blade.
"Were you always this weak?" Gin mockingly asked. "That mask of yours was pretty fragile, is that all there is to this Hollowfication stuff? I could have sworn you were way more frightening the first time you attacked me."
Ichigo struggled to speak between his pants of breath. The best he could do was glare at Gin defiantly.
The Soul Reaper was unmoved however. "Oh, well. Go on. Get lost."
Ichigo's breath hitched, anger and shock bubbling their way up his throat. "What?!"
/*/
Aizen was now floating in midair, Isshin on one side of him, Yoruichi and Urahara on the other. Yoruichi was cradling her right arm, which had been deprived of her gauntlet.
"You okay?" Urahara asked without taking his eyes off Aizen.
"Who do you think you're talking to?" Yoruichi responded, also keeping her eyes on Aizen. "I only blocked his attack because I was held down by your shoddy armor. If I wasn't, I would have dodged unharmed."
"Right, sorry about that," Urahara replied with a small smile. His smile didn't last when he noticed Aizen seemed to be squinting at them. "What are you looking at?"
"You," Aizen answered plainly. "I'm looking at you, wondering if your farce of concern is some sort of strategy."
"And here I thought you weren't going to be cautious anymore."
"I'm not being cautious," Aizen corrected. "I'm being observant. You're the only one in all of Soul Society whose intellect is more brilliant. Though our powers are no longer equal, you still interest me."
"Did-did Aizen just say someone was better than him at something?" NRG asked, looking at the Titans. "You heard that right? I'm not just hearing things?"
"My, my," Urahara said with a tip of his hat. "You think too highly of me, Aizen. For really I am nothing more than a humble candy shop owner. Hado 32: Okasen!"
Raising his Zanapkuto horizontally in front of himself, Urahara generated an orb of yellow energy. The orb widened itself along the length of his blade before firing as a wide arc at Aizen. Calmly, Aizen held his own Zanpakuto horizontally in front of him and raised his spiritual pressure. The arc of energy struck his sword and spread around him, like pushing against an invisible barrier.
"You obviously know that a Hado in the 30s is useless against me. Which means this is nothing but a diversion for…" Looking upwards, Aizen spotted Yoruichi leaping over the energy, her left arm raised for a punch. "This."
He raised his own left arm to block Yoruichi's fist, a shockwave erupting as she connected. Yoruichi yelled as she put as much force as possible into her blow.
"Come on!" NRG said to the others. "We have to help!"
"Got it!" Ken looked at this team. "Titans, go!"
Back up in the air, Aizen's attention was solely on Yoruichi, barely affected by her attack, if at all. "Don't you see? Even if you were to strike me a thousand times, you still couldn't defeat me."
"Then let's test that out!"
Aizen looked down just in time to be struck by green beams of light coming from Starfire's hands. Ken and Superboy leaped into the air, punching their enemy in the gut. Aizen prepared to slash at them when…
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
Aizen turned pitch black, his body frozen in place. On the ground, Raven had her arms extended to the sky, darkness gathered around her hands. Swinging her arms caused Aizen to spin in the air before slamming down into the ground. Cyborg aimed his right arm at Aizen, the limb shifting and twisting until it transformed into a cannon. The same blue light from earlier shot toward the downed foe. NRG hit the Ultimatrix symbol on his chest, turning into Jetray. Soaring high into the air, he hit the Ultimatrix symbol again, turning into Humungosaur.
"Belly flop!" He yelled before slamming all of his weight down on Aizen.
"Ah yeah!" Cyborg cheered. "Take that, Aizen!"
Humungosaur grinned, only to find himself flung off by Aizen and flat onto his back. Snarling, he watched the Soul Reaper rise to his feet.
"Ah, I was wondering when the rest of you were going to join in," Aizen said idly. He looked up as Yoruichi dove at him again, catching her punch. "I already told you, you can't defeat me."
Aizen then shot away from her, avoiding a blast of electricity. Humungosaur turned around to see that the source was none other than Ken himself.
"Wait, you have electric powers?"
Ken grinned at the alternate version of his father. "I can do a lot more than that."
"Shibari, Benihime!"
A blood-red net suddenly materialized, wrapping around Aizen's body. Urahara was crouching nearby, his blade impaling one of the net's ropes.
"Do you really think you can bind me with—"
"Hiasobi, Benihime, Juzutsunagi!"
Orbs of fire began forming around the outside of the net, each one exploding one after the other like a domino sequence. They continued exploding down the net until they reached Aizen, creating a massive detonation of fire.
"Did that get him?" Superboy asked.
"Get me? How ridiculous."
Humungosaur groaned. "Of course it didn't."
"Don't tell me that was your secret weapon," Aizen said as he stepped out of the flames, only now sporting several scorch marks and even more cracks on his body. "You didn't really think that would…"
His words were cut short when Isshin appeared in front of him, his blade blazing with energy.
"Getsuga Tensho!"
Isshin brought his sword down, cutting Aizen from top to bottom. His attack prompted an explosion of energy similar to the flaming pillars Yamamoto had created. Even more of the surrounding buildings were annihilated by the attack and the spot Aizen had been standing in was transformed into another colossal crater.
Urahara appeared beside Isshin. "Did that work?"
"Not sure," Isshin confessed grimly. "I haven't been able to read his spiritual pressure since he transformed. Obviously he's terrifyingly powerful but even when I attacked him, it was as if he wasn't even there. It's rather creepy. The only one who could possibly read Aizen's power now…would be someone in the same state he is."
Both Isshin and Urahara's eyes widened as they felt a wave of power from the flames and a figure walking through them. "That was a fine strike. I believe I understood that attack."
As Aizen stepped into view, the shell around his body sported cracks across his head and a gaping fissure that ran down his forehead to his chin.
Isshin tried to steady himself, apprehension filling his body. "What's happening? What's going on in that thing?"
Aizen raised his blade. "I think it's time all of you understood my power too."
"Not happening!" Ken raised his hands at fired beams of red energy at Aizen, who quickly sidestepped the attack. In the blink of an eye he was right in front of Ken.
Superboy moved to punch him but Aizen ducked the blow, spun on one foot and kicked the young hero in the side of the head. Starfire fired her green blasts, only for them to be blocked by a Danku barrier. Raven raised her hands, entrapping Aizen once again and allowing Cyborg to fire at him.
"Your abilities are all intriguing," Aizen said. "But compared to my own power, vastly underwhelming."
The air began to feel heavy, catching all of them by surprise. The Titans all had a look of surprise before they fell to their knees.
"So this is Aizen's spiritual pressure," Ken noted. "Urahara said it was bad but this…"
"He can do this just from the energy of his soul alone?" Raven asked, trying to push herself up.
"Come on," Superboy said, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to rise. "We can't let this guy win. We know what's going to happen if he does."
Humungosaur was about to jump in when shards of green crystal began firing all over the place. The moment he brought his arms up to block the incoming projectiles, vines began rising out of the ground, wrapping around him.
The three Arrancar turned to where the Hollow Aliens had previously been frozen. They took a step back when they saw the ice was partially melted, wet footprints heading in the opposite direction.
"Huh," Starrk frowned as he scanned the area. "So those three have some degree of intelligence. They managed to escape and hide while we were distracted."
More vines began to emerge as giant crystals began flying towards everyone before exploding in clouds of shrapnel.
"What's going on?" Ken asked, looking at one of the shards. "Are these…?"
"Yeah, one of the Espada created clones of my aliens and Hollowfied them somehow," Humungosaur called. The more vines he tore from his body, the more they seemed to grow back.
"Another Arrancar they cared about died," Nelliel said, trying to find where the Hollow Aliens could be hiding. "Although the one responsible for it can't do anything, they're lashing out against all of us."
"If they should be lashing out at anyone," Harribel glared at Aizen, "It should be you for what you did to Wonderweiss."
Despite his mouth being obscured, it still felt like Aizen was smiling smugly at her. "What I did? Once Souls become Hollows, they have no purpose. They mindlessly consume other souls. What's so cruel about giving purpose to such an existence?"
Starrk, Nelliel and Harribel all glared at Aizen.
"So you think that gives you the right to do what you want to them?!"
Humungosaur finally pried himself free long enough to throw a fist at Aizen who raised a hand. Despite the force of Humungosaur's blow knocking the Titans away, Aizen himself was unmoved.
"Let me ask you this, Benjamin," Aizen looked up at his saurian foe. "Since I gave them purpose, how does that not give me the right to use them as I see fit?"
Ken punched Aizen in the side of the head, his fist crackling with electricity. Aizen almost lazily swung his sword, only for his eyes to widen as Ken's body became transparent, allowing the Zanpakuto to pass through him. Ken grinned before striking Azien again. "Surprise!"
Humungosaur swung his tail only for Aizen to flip over it. He pointed at the hero's head, ready to cast a spell when Cyborg lunged at him with a punch of his own. Aizen stepped to the side but just as he was about to attack, Cyborg's shoulders opened up and a barrage of missiles fired at the Soul Reaper.
"Cool," Humungosaur said.
"Thanks but I don't think that did anything," Cyborg said, looking at his hands. "Thanks to that Hogyoku thing, my weapons might as well be tickling him."
Humungosaur scratched his chin. "I've got an idea. If that Hogyoku gave Aizen an upgrade," He hit the Ultimatrix dial, "Then we need an Upgrade of our own."
The alien Ben had become now was a vaguely humanoid creature that appeared to be made of green and black circuitry. His face, if it could be called that, was a great big circle in the middle of his head.
"Oh? Another alien I haven't seen yet," Aizen said as the smoke from Cyborg's attack dissolved. "And what can this one do?"
"I call this guy Upgrade," the new alien said in Ben's own voice, albeit as if he was talking through an electronic speaker. "As for what he can do, may I?" he asked a gawking Cyborg.
"A-are you serious?" Cyborg asked.
"Only if you're okay with it," Upgrade replied.
A massive grin threatened to split Cyborg's face. "Ah, yeah! Let's do it!"
Upgrade chuckled before jumping at Cyborg. Aizen and the Arrancar all stared as Upgrade seemed to disappear inside of the Titan. Then Cyborg's whole body, minus the visible parts of flesh, took on the same appearance as Upgrade's body.
"Next level, baby!" Cyborg cheered.
"I see, so this Upgrade can merge with technology."
Just then part of Cyborg's left shoulder seemed to melt and morph before Upgrade's head emerged. "Oh I don't just merge with them."
Grinning, Cyborg aimed his right arm at Aizen, his cannon not only bigger but now also sporting numerous rocket launchers.
"I make them better."
"An amusing ability but do you think I will—" Aizen's taunt was cut short when he felt a pair of hands grab his legs and pull him down to the ground. Aizen looked down in surprise before Cyborg unleashed a blast worthy of one of Starrk's Cero. Aizen was blown away by the Cero before being pelted with Cyborg's rocket bombardment.
"Booyah!" Cyborg pumped his other fist.
Ken emerged from the ground, becoming tangible again. "Nice one, Cyborg."
"Is that guy finally going to stay down now?" Superboy asked.
"Look out!" Raven called as several giant crystal boulders began descending towards them like meteors.
"La Gota!" Harribel began firing rapid bursts of water at the boulders to divert their path.
"Thanks, Harribel," Upgrade said to the Espada.
"We need to do something about those three," Harribel said as more projectiles were launched into the air and fell towards them. Nelliel fired her own Cero to divert more and Raven helped by stopping some with her own powers.
"They're using hit-and-run tactics to deal with our numbers," Starrk said after looking around. "I'd send some of my wolves after them but there's a chance they might move closer to any of you or even the injured."
"Leave them to us!"
The group turned to see Harribel's Fraccione, Charlotte, Hachigen, and Orihime standing atop a mound of rubble. Hachigen was holding the injured Shinji in his arms.
"Girls?"
"Orihime?"
Orihime gasped. "Ken?!"
Ken smiled. "Hey, Orihime. Glad to see you're alright."
"Lady Harribel!" Apacci called. "We'll take care of those knock-offs so all of you can focus on Aizen!"
As if on cue, another boulder came lunging at them from the east. Hachi calmly raised one hand and a green barrier appeared in front of them. The colossal diamond slammed into its surface but the barrier held.
Apacci turned her head toward the direction the boulder came from. "There they are! Mila Rose! Sung-Sun! Let's move!"
"Who went and made you leader?" Mila Rose asked with a scowl.
"We'll worry about that later," Sung-Sun said. "For now…"
All three girls began charging up their Cero. Charlotte then jumped into the air, putting his hands together in the shape of a heart.
"Allow me to assist! Beautiful Charlotte Chuhlhourne's Final Wonderful Pretty Super Magnum Sexy Sexy Glamorous Cero!"
"Uh…what?" Superboy asked as Charlotte fired his violet Cero the same time Harribel's Fraccion fired their own. Charlotte's already massive Cero merged with those the girls blasted, creating a colossal beam of violet, dark pink, red, and orange mixed together.
"Uh, why didn't they just use that against Aizen?" Raven asked.
"Probably worried he would have dodged it or something?" Upgrade suggested.
The rainbow-esque beam struck nearby, obliterating what few buildings remained intact.
"I see them!" Apacci cried as three shapes were now visible in the air.
"As do I," Hachigen gently shifted Shinji over his shoulder before clapping his hands together. All three Hollow aliens were encased in their own individual barrier.
"That should keep those three out of trouble for now," Hachigen said as the three clones pounded at the barriers fiercely. Fuego was trying to blast it with his flames while Diamante even attempted firing shards to free himself. "Hmm. I may need to reinforce those barriers."
"So what should we do with them?" Mila Rose asked.
"I understand they are the enemy but considering they were created by Ben's aliens, I'll let him decide their fate. Though I'm certain he'd much rather focus on Aizen."
"Good idea." Apacci then grinned at them. "Aizen is all yours, Ben! Lady Harribel!"
"Oh, am I?"
The group turned around to see Aizen walking towards them. Not only had more cracks spread along his body, there were even more tears now forming along his sides and arms. It was amazing that the shell was still intact at all.
Those who had not witnessed Aizen's transformation all stared. "T-that's Aizen?" Orihime asked.
"Ah, hello again, Orihime Inoue," Aizen said in amusement, making said girl flinch. "Still won't smile in my presence, I see."
"She'll probably smile when you get your butt kicked!" Upgrade shouted at Aizen.
"Then it seems she will never smile again," Aizen retorted.
"We'll see about that!"
"Cascada!" Harribel shouted, sending a wave at Aizen. The others had just enough time to leap back as the attack appeared to dowse Aizen. Harribel was skeptical that her attack had any real effect, so she followed it up with a bombardment of La Gota.
Struck by inspiration, Ken fired a blast of electricity at the water.
"They say that sound is louder underwater!" Cyborg fired his cannon.
"Sound?" Upgrade asked.
"Yeah, my cannon is a Sonic Cannon," Cyborg explained.
"Whoa, a sonic beam? How come Echo Echo can't do something like that?"
Starrk eyed the spot where Aizen had been standing warily. With how much Aizen had been holding out against, he doubted their combined attacks were doing much damage. He was going to make a move again and soon.
Look out! He's behind you!
Starrk reacted to the unknown voice in his head for just a moment before swinging his blades with a turn. His swords collided with Kyoka Suigetsu, Aizen narrowing his eyes at the Primera. Starrk would have commented on what had occurred when the voice spoke again.
Centaur lady! He's coming at you now!
Nelliel spun her lance in a circle defensively. Her blade struck Kyoka Suigetsu as Aizen was now standing right beside her.
"That's twice now my attack was blocked. How were you able to know where I was?"
Ken grinned at this. "Great work, Miss Martian."
Glad I could finally be of some help, a young girl's voice said. For a moment I thought I was never going to lend a hand.
Uh, Starrk? Lilynette asked within Starrk's mind. Why the hell did we hear another voice inside your head?
Oh, sorry about that. Hello, my name is Miss Martian but please, call me Megan. I have the power to communicate telepathically with others. When Ken told us about Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu, he recommended I be part of the group that crossed over.
"Aizen's power works by controlling the five basic senses, right?" Superboy said, crossing his arms. "Not much good against someone who can just read minds."
"Read minds, you say?" Aizen turned towards him, intrigued. "So that's how you were able to know where I was attacking."
"Your horrible powers of illusion are useless now," Starfire said, frowning at him.
"I must admit, of all the powers and abilities I was expecting, never did I consider something as being able to read the minds of others," Aizen said. "A pity Benjamin didn't have such a power at his disposal. Perhaps it would have saved him quite a lot of grief."
Upgrade growled, not bothering to admit that was half-true. He had forgotten that AmpFibian had the ability to read minds, but Ben had no clue how to use it.
"So, a way to counter my Kyoka Suigetsu exists. All it took was inhabitants of another universe to make it possible. However, does the fact you can counter my zanpakuto's abilities give you hope? Not once in our battle have I tried to use my zanpakuto on you. In the end, I do not need Kyoka Suigetsu's power for you."
He honestly believes that. Everyone heard Miss Martian say worriedly. He's honestly convinced that he doesn't need to use his zanpakuto to win.
"With how powerful the Hogyoku has made him, it's no surprise," Raven said.
"Guess we'll just have to prove him wrong," Superboy said.
"You make it sound so simple," Aizen said in amusement. "Let me see what you can come up with so I can tear your hopes apart."
Suddenly a silver chain appeared around Aizen's body. He tilted his head to the left, seeing one end in Urahara's hand. Then Aizen tilted his head to the right, seeing the other end in Isshin's hands. He half-heartedly looked up to see Yoruichi coming at him again, energy gathered around her armored fist.
"Shunko!" she cried, slamming into Aizen and releasing a whirlwind from her attack.
"Hit him with everything you've got!" Urahara cried.
Ken, Starfire, and Cyborg blasted Aizen as Yoruichi kicked off the enemy Soul Reaper. Raven and Superboy picked up some of the diamond boulders and sent them hurtling towards Aizen. Starrk, Harribel and Nelliel fired their respective Cero, sending a blazing mixture of blue, yellow, and pink at their ex-leader. The various attacks rose together in a colossal pillar of light for all to see.
"Please," Upgrade said anxiously, removing himself from Cyborg and taking a few steps forward as the light started to die down. "Please tell me that took him down."
Guys! Look out!
"Kurohitsugi."
No sooner had Miss Martian warned them than the Teen Titans were encased in a giant cube of black energy. Upgrade tried to reach for them but parts of the cube contorted and extended, like jagged spikes. The circle in the middle of Upgrade's face widened in shock as the box dissolved, the Titans all collapsing to the ground. "Guys! Guys!" Upgrade ran over to Ken and started shaking him. He could make out his alternate's son's breathing but he didn't stir.
"Hado 90: Kurohitsugi," Hachigen said as Orihime gasped beside him. "The Black Coffin and one of the most powerful Hado Spells."
Upgrade was nearly knocked off his feet when something crashed beside him. Cold terror ran down his back at seeing it was the bleeding form of Nelliel, slumped over a piece of wall. "Nelliel!"
Two more bodies hit the ground near her. Upgrade ran towards them, a weight forming in his stomach upon seeing the fallen Starrk and Harribel. To make matters worse, Harribel was bleeding from the exact same spot where Aizen had first slashed her.
"Lady Harribel!" Her Fraccione were immediately at her side while Orihime went over to heal Nelliel. "Damn that Aizen!" Apacci screamed. "I'll kill him! I'll kill that bastard!"
"Apacci, don't," Harribel said weakly, struggling to push herself up.
"Harribel, don't get up!" Upgrade was at her side. "Just rest now, okay?"
"Aizen said," Starrk grunted as he sat up, "He wasn't going to bother killing us since Orihime was here. Of course he added that us living wouldn't make much of a difference. Sorry, Ben. In the end, we weren't of any help."
"Don't say that, Starrk," Upgrade said. "You guys were a great help. It's that stupid Hogyoku." He looked around, trying to find Aizen. Not only was he gone but so were Yoruichi, Isshin, and Urahara. They must've fought elsewhere. "Please look after Ken and the others. I'm going after him."
"Ben, Aizen's so strong now, how can you stop him?" Mila Rose asked.
"Go Way Big!" Apacci said. "That stopped him before."
"But that was before Aizen was transformed," Sung-Sun pointed out.
"Well, can you go Ultimate Way Big?" Apacci asked, causing the Arrancar to stare at Ben, probably trying to wrap their minds around such an alien.
"Never tried it before but I might have to," Upgrade said then lowered his head. "But, even that might not be enough."
"Then what can?!" Apacci yelled.
"You're onto something about using Way Big, Apacci, but first I should get the Hogyoku away from Aizen.""
"There's a chance Aizen ensured the Hogyoku couldn't be removed," Hachige pointed out.
"Won't know unless I try," Upgrade answered. "But first I got to catch up to him."
"Ben," Harribel winced as she pushed herself up, her Fraccion on either side helping to support her. "I-I have to tell you this, in case Aizen can't be stopped…"
"Harribel," Upgrade said gently. "You said we'll talk after Aizen was defeated as he will be. I won't let him win."
"I want to believe that, Ben," Starrk spoke up. "But the Hogyoku's just going to keep making him more and more powerful. I don't know if you can win this one."
Well I do!
A wolf appeared beside Starrk, surprising everyone. Starrk looked at it curiously before his visible eye widened. "Lilynette?"
The wolf nodded before looking at Upgrade. I've seen you do so many incredible things. And even… even when things were hard, you never let that stop you. I don't care what Aizen says, I believe in you! I don't need a god or a king or whatever! I've got Ben 10 and that's better than all those things combined!
"Lilynette…"
The wolf almost seemed to smile. So you go, Ben! Kick Aizen's ass and save all those people like the hero you are!
"We'll tend to the injured, Ben," Hachigen said as he looked up at the Hollow Aliens, still trying to free themselves. "Looking after them while keeping those three in time out will be no trouble."
"Thank you, Hachigen!" Upgrade hit the Ultimatrix and transformed into XLR8. "Look out, Aizen. This ain't over!"
"Good luck, Ben," Apacci said.
"We believe in you, too," Mila Rose stated.
"That will never be in doubt," Sung-Sun added.
"Show that false king his place, your majesty."
"Ben," Harribel said. For a moment it seemed like she wanted to resume what she was previously going to say. Instead she shook her head. "I believe in you too. We'll be waiting for you after you've defeated Aizen."
XLR8 nodded, casting one last glance at Ken and his team. "I'll be back, guys." As his visor closed over his face, XLR8 shot off to find his enemy. Hachigen then turned his head towards the fallen Teen Titans.
"Wait!"
Everyone turned to see a newcomer flying towards them. She had green skin and brown hair, wearing a blue cape, a white shirt sporting a red X, blue shirt and boots, with white gloves.
"Miss Martian, I'm guessing," Starrk said.
She nodded, looking over at her defeated friends. "You can heal them right?"
"Of course," Hachigen said reassuringly.
/*/
"You sure turning your back on me is a good idea, especially when I'm right in front of you?"
Ichigo froze at Gin's words. He had been so caught up trying to figure out what was happening with Aizen, he had forgotten about his own battle. Gin was once again standing on a chunk of stone that had been part of a rooftop.
"Looks like it's all over for you," Gin said as he hopped off the stone. "You're not a warrior anymore. You're not a Soul Reaper, not a Hollow, or even a human. You really think you can beat somebody that an entire group couldn't beat? Especially in that mismatched state of yours."
Ichigo was about to protest but the words never left his lips. Despite his attempts, doubt had been filling his mind throughout their fight. He couldn't even hide the uncertainty if he tried. Gin noticed Ichigo's turmoil and sighed.
"Alright, that's it. Go on, get out of here." As Ichigo looked up at him in surprise, Gin went on. "You don't want to die yet, right? And I'm not interested in you anymore, anyway. Even Aizen would be disappointed to see you in the state you're in. You're scared aren't you? Scared of Captain Aizen?"
Ichigo's eyes widened as Gin's words punched right to the heart of the matter.
"You sensed it, right? Captain Aizen's power?"
Ichigo's fighting spirit seemed to evaporate. He fell to his knees, looking at the ground in sheer defeat. He looked so broken.
"That was my final warning," Gin said quietly, drawing out his zanpakuto again. "If you're not gonna run, I guess I'll just have to kill you right here and now."
Ichigo looked up at Gin in shock when something crashed behind him. Turning his head, fear clutched his heart when he saw it was none other than Aizen himself. He had little time to react when three bodies impacted the area near Aizen. Ichigo's heart was pounding in his ears when he saw Yoruichi had crashed into a building behind Aizen, the upper half of her body hanging from the edge of the roof. To the left of Aizen lay Urahara, unconscious. To Ichigo's right was his own father.
"Dad," he said weakly. "Urahara…Yoruichi…"
Aizen's attention was on Gin, noticing him starting to lower his blade. "Gin, what were you about to do just now?"
Gin looked at Aizen coolly. "Nothing. I was just testing him, that's all."
"Very well," Aizen's narrowed eyes hinted he was skeptical. The transformed Soul Reaper began walking away from the two. "Open the Senkaimon Gate. We're going to invade Karakura Town within Soul Society."
Those words snapped Ichigo out of his stupor but Aizen paid him no mind.
"It's not necessary to destroy the four pillars. It would be far more convenient to create the Royal Key within Soul Society to take down the Royal Palace."
"Yes, sir," Gin said with a bow.
"Wa-" Ichigo staggered to his feet. "Wait!"
Both he and Gin paused as cracking noises began to emit from Aizen's body. The shell part that encased his head began crumbling away. Ichigo was petrified. Even Gin was surprised, "Captain Aizen?"
"Yes, it appears the chrysalis stage is finally over. What a relief." Aizen's head was visible once more. His hair was long while his eyes were grey with purple sclera. "Now I can witness the end of Soul Society with my own eyes."
"You're not going anywhere!"
Fire spread around the ground, creating a ring around Aizen, Gin, and Ichigo due to his proximity. The three turned to see Heatblast approaching them.
"Going for a new look, Aizen? Don't think the long hair suits you but hey, compared to the wear and tear look this is an improvement."
"Your persistence is astounding, Benjamin," Aizen said, smiling at the Pyronite. "But it is one more of your admirable qualities."
"Ben," Ichigo said softly as the fiery alien stood beside him.
"Don't worry, Ichigo. He's not getting to your town," Heatblast said.
"Ben, it's—you—he…"
"See what I mean?" Gin spoke up. "You're ready to give up but Ben here's still willing to duke it out with Captain Aizen."
Ichigo couldn't find the words to argue, looking down at the ground with his head hung low.
"Hey, it's okay, Ichigo," Heatblast reassured him.
"How is it okay?!" Ichigo asked him hysterically. "He defeated my dad, Yoruichi, Urahara, I'm guessing he must've beat your friends too. You know how powerful he is, how are you not scared right now?!"
"Who says I'm not scared, Ichigo?" Heatblast asked gently, surprising not only Ichigo but also Gin and Aizen. "I'm scared too. Scared that no matter what we do, Aizen's just gonna keep getting stronger and stronger."
"You admit this and yet you're still willing to face me?" Aizen asked curiously.
"You bet I am!" Heatblast answered firmly. "You know why? Because if we don't stop you, all those innocent people will die."
Ichigo's breath hitched at Heatblast's words.
"And something tells me you won't stop there!" Heatblast went on. "You'll probably go after my friends next! Losing them, not being able to save all those people… that's scarier than you'll everbe, Aizen! So no matter what, no matter how powerful you become, I'm not gonna stop until I take you down!"
Ichigo, Gin, and Aizen all stared at the hero's declaration. Ichigo's eyes widened as he remembered: his friends, his family. If Aizen wasn't stopped, they would all…
"You hear that, my idiot of a son?" Ichigo turned to see his dad pushing himself up and grinning at him. "You're gonna let someone else protect your home, the people you want to protect, all by himself?"
His other friends, his family, people he knew… if he gave in like a coward, Aizen would kill them all. Ben was willing to fight Aizen regardless of the odds, how could Ichigo himself do any less?
"You're not facing him alone, Ben," Ichigo said, finally standing on both feet. "I'm with you."
Aizen closed his eyes and Heatblast prepared himself for another mocking comment. "Incredible, simply incredible. Everything about you, Benjamin, your power, your will, you truly astound me. You have every right to doubt my words right now but I do sincerely respect you."
"Yeah, really find that hard to believe."
"Understandable given our circumstances," Aizen said. "But ever since you first told us about yourself and your accomplishments, I knew you were telling the truth. One so young gaining so much power, the ordeals you've faced, and yet still being a compassionate, noble figure who only cared about helping others. Idealistic perhaps but a testament to your capabilities."
"Is there a point to this?" Heatblast asked.
Aizen looked Heatblast dead in the eye and smiled. "If we had met under different circumstances… could we have been friends?"
Heatblast's jaw dropped. Ichigo and Isshin gawked and even Gin's eyes slightly opened at Aizen's words.
And then, another pressure filled the air. A thick, heavy pressure as if everyone had wound up in the ocean.
Aizen looked up at the sky. "Hmm? What's this?"
Ichigo froze. "This pressure, it's just like—"
/*/
Back amongst the former Espada, Teen Titans, and Vizards, the wounded struggled to recover. Harribel, her Fraccion, Starrk, and Charlotte's eyes widened at the sudden pressure.
"This is—" Starrk choked.
"It can't be," Harribel whispered.
"Impossible," Charlotte muttered weakly.
/*/
Baraggan Louisenbairn let out a bellowing roar as he shot into the sky. "BEN TENNYSON! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
End of Chapter
See what I mean about wanting to post two chapters? I'm pretty sure all of you have questions regarding the contents of this chapter, including why some of Ken's team were wearing special equipment. That will be answered in hopefully the next chapter or at the very least, the chapter after next. I don't really have anything else to add right now except to once again apologize for the wait. See you in the next chapter!
