Sombra's senses went off the moment he felt a Garganta open somewhere inside Karakura Town, though whoever had come out of it did the smart thing and made sure that their reiatsu didn't reveal that they were there, so he simply remained on the roof and waited for something else to happen. Some time later he felt another one open in the same area, telling him that they might have enemies to deal with if more of Aizen's Arrancar came to attack them and test their defenses now that more Shinigami were guarding the town, which was the whole point of Captain Hitsuguya and the others coming in the first place. At that point he was sure that their enemies were planning something, even if they were hiding, and he was sorely tempted to go out and leave both Ichigo and Rukia behind, as they were either fighting or arguing over the sleeping arrangements that had been made for Rukia after she told Isshin and Yuzu about her 'situation', as her bed had been put in the same room as Ichigo's sisters, hence the disagreement between them. He felt that such a thing was silly, since Rukia could have just ignored them and infiltrated Ichigo's closet, or asked one of the others if they'd help her out, but this was the hand that she had dealt herself and it was time to see what she did, besides spending time arguing with Ichigo anyway.
When a few minutes since the second Garganta had opened had ticked by, and he was still using his Pesquisa to see if he could figure out how many enemies there were, his radar flared to life as six different reiatsu signatures appeared, all mostly heading off in different directions... to which he opened his eyes and slipped in through the open window, as it was time for him to tell the others what he had found, since they were still talking about the sleeping arrangements.
"Guys, stop arguing about this nonsense." Sombra said, causing the two of them to glance at him for a moment, as they had figured that he would have remained on the roof until he grew tired of their company and departed, before noticing the serious look on his face, "They're here."
"Who are you talki..." Ichigo started to ask, though that was before he felt the reiatsu from the Arrancar, causing him to sweat for a moment as he remembered what he had felt back when Ulquiorra and Yammy came to the World of the Living, before he turned to Rukia, who was digging out her phone, "How many of them are there this time?"
"Six." Sombra replied, showing them that he had counted the signatures before coming down to see the two of them, while at the same time that spurred Ichigo into searching for his Substitute Badge so he could transform and head out before anyone was hurt, "From what I can tell two are heading towards Captain Hitsuguya, Lieutenant Matsumoto, and Orihime, one is heading towards Ikkaku and Yumichika, the fourth is heading towards Renji, the fifth is heading towards Chad, and it appears that the sixth one is coming for us. My best guess is that they've come to kill everyone that has a reiatsu signature, regardless of their strength, so that means that Uryu is safe since he has no power at the moment and Orihime is fine in the hands of Captain Hitsuguya and his Lieutenant, but Chad's still recovering and is the most vulnerable to an attack at the moment."
"You know, sometimes I forget how good you are at sensing things before my phone does," Rukia commented, though at the same time she put the phone away as Ichigo finally found his badge, allowing him to push his soul from his body and enter his Shinigami state once more, "Come on, let's go intercept whoever is heading for Chad and take them, and whoever is coming for us, out at the same time, or one by one depending on when they strike."
Together the three of the headed out of Ichigo's bedroom window and made their way over to Chad's apartment, though while they did that Sombra noticed that the sixth signature, the strongest out of the Arrancar that had come here, was changing direction and happened to be following them, just like he suspected. His thoughts on the matter were that he was the prime target and everyone else around him was just going to get caught in the crossfire, but at the same time there was no knowing if that was the case until the Arrancar that was following them showed up and announced his or her intentions. The only good thing about the distance between Ichigo's place and Chad's apartment was that it didn't take them very long to reach their destination, where they found that Chad was already leaving the building, with his armored arm at the ready, and that one of the Arrancar had already arrived to do battle with him. Of course since Rukia didn't change back into her Shinigami form, and Ichigo ran off without letting her ride on his back like normal, Ichigo and Sombra were the first ones to arrive on the scene, allowing them to hear what the Arrancar said before anything else happened and allowed them to prepare themselves for battle.
"What's this? You aren't a Shinigami?" the Arrancar, with cyan bandaged wrapped around the right side of the remains of his Hollow mask, asked, though at the same time Sombra detected that he was disappointed in what he was seeing, meaning that he hadn't felt their arrival yet as he dashed forward as Chad turned to face him, "My loss!"
"You're supposed to decide," Ichigo replied, just after flashing forward and stopping the Arrancar's hand before it had a chance to even touch Chad, despite the fact that the pressure from the attack had opened a very small point in his chest that had a few drops of blood emerge from it, all while the Arrancar glanced at him in surprise, "whether or not you lost, after the fight."
"Fair enough." the Arrancar said, though this time his frown turned into a smile as he stared at Ichigo and Chad, while Sombra landed behind Ichigo, which caused the frown to return in full force for a few seconds, before he pulled his hand out of Ichigo's grasp and backed up a little, "Then I'll just say the same thing again, once I've killed all of you."
"Chad, please stand back and let me take care of him." Ichigo commented, causing the shocked Chad to glance at him for a moment, while at the same time Ichigo drew Zangetsu and readied himself for the battle to come, since he knew that fighting these Arrancar would be tough, if what happened during their first visit was anything to go by.
"Look, it's not because of the fact that you were injured, it's just that he's out of your league," Sombra added, knowing that Chad wasn't going to be okay with this situation, since it appeared that he and Ichigo had a good history together before all of this madness started, before Chad glanced at him for a second, "His power is lower than Yammy's, that much I can tell from a glance, but even that power is still greater than what you have at the moment, so my suggestion is that you head to Urahara's place and see if he'll train you so that you can participate in the next battle."
Chad was slightly annoyed that Ichigo didn't want him fighting by his side, though when Sombra explained that his power didn't match their enemies, in a way that was worse than Soul Society, he knew that the time to back out was now, before he got seriously hurt or even killed, to which he nodded his head and started the run towards the Urahara Shop, where he hoped to gain the power he needed so he could stand by Ichigo's side once more. While he did that he stopped for a moment when he spotted Rukia emerge from one of the alleys, asking if he was okay, to which he paused and told her that he was just fine and that he didn't have the required strength to be of any help this time around, before heading off towards his destination so he could get the power he needed.
"You know, for a moment I thought he was going to argue with us over staying here," Ichigo commented, though he was happy that Chad was willing to listen to Sombra's words, even though he was certain that all the Arrancar that had come into the World of the Living were weaker than he was, before he turned towards his opponent, "Okay then, I'm going to tear this guy apart and then we can see to helping the others overcome their enemies."
"Ichigo, I think you should sit this one out as well," Rukia stated, surprising Ichigo for a moment, since he hadn't noticed her approach them from behind, though at the same time she could see that Sombra was interested in what she had to show them, so while Ichigo turned around she pulled out her own Soul Candy and popped it into her mouth, "You are way too tense for this fight, Ichigo, and people who get like that before a fight end up getting themselves killed. Just fall back and let me take care of him."
Sombra and Ichigo watched as Rukia separated herself from her gigai and stepped out in her Shinigami form, though as Ichigo started to open his mouth, so he could complain about the situation, Sombra and Chappy, the Gikon that Rukia had inserted into her gigai so it could be out of harms way, pulled him off to the side so they could watch Rukia battle and defeat the first Arrancar. Ichigo, on the other hand, stated that he was surprised that Rukia's powers had returned so quickly, where Sombra explained that Soul Society was the perfect place for her to heal the wounds that had been inflicted upon her by staying inside the gigai that Urahara had given her the first time she was in the World of the Living, and that she now had all her powers back. One thing that Sombra also noticed was that Rukia's powers seemed even stronger than before, back when he first met her, and that she definitely deserved the position as the Lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division, which was why he was so curious as to what sort of power her Zanpakuto possessed, something that Ichigo clearly had forgotten about, since that was the only thing they didn't know about her at this point. It was in the moment of Rukia explaining that she had restored her body to it's original potential, and then gained her true power back, that the Arrancar that was standing nearby raced forward and swung his hand at her, where Rukia drew her Zanpakuto and allowed herself to be pushed back a little, so she could get away from the others.
When he felt they were far enough away the Arrancar swung his hand and tossed Rukia at the telephone pole that was nearby, where she touched it's side with her feet before racing back towards the Arrancar, who blocked the incoming attack with his right arm.
"I'm Arrancar Sixteen, Di Roy." the Arrancar said, his frown being replaced by a smile, because he knew that the two Shinigami that were around him were more than enough for him to take care of, especially when his leader was coming to mess with the other Arrancar.
"I'm the Lieutenant of the Thirte..." Rukia started to say, though there was a flicker in Di Roy's eyes that told her that this was the sort of opponent who honestly didn't care about that sort of thing, and what he ended up saying next only confirmed her thoughts on the matter.
"Yeah, skip it." Di Roy said, his tone indicating that he didn't care about Rukia or her position all that much, showing that he was arrogant and that he believed that his power was far greater than what she possessed, all while Sombra watched them from where he was standing as Ichigo was tormented by Chappy, "If I had to listen to the name of everyone I was going to kill, there'd be no end to it."
"I see." Rukia replied, to which she jumped backwards for a moment and landed a few steps away from Di Roy, where she held her Zanpakuto at the ready, indicating that she was getting ready to release it's true form and power, "Then, at the very least, you would do well to learn the name of my Zanpakuto. Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"
Rukia turned her hand around in what was almost a perfect circle, causing the entirety of her Zanpakuto to turn pure white while a white ribbon formed from the pommel, though while that happened Sombra noted that there was a rush of cold air in every direction and that the tsuba of Sode no Shirayuki looked like a snowflake, all while thinking that it looked like a very beautiful Zanpakuto, must like Shokyo.
"Some no mai," Rukia continued, to which she flashed forward and rapidly reappeared a few steps behind Di Roy, where she swung her blade back towards him in a manner, though that was when Sombra noticed that there was a circle of ice surrounding her and that it was latching onto Di Roy's legs, "Tsukishiro."
"What the hell is this?" Di Roy demanded, to which he broke himself out of the ice that was trapping his feet and surged into the air above Rukia, who turned to look up at him as she stepped out of the ice ring, all while noticing that he was inside the circle still, meaning that he was an idiot, "Tough luck, Shinigami! My true battlefield is the sky. A sword that only freezes the ground can never hit an airborne opponent!"
"What a pity." Rukia commented, to which the circle of ice glowed before a pillar of ice, which reached all the way to the heavens, formed where the circle was located, trapping Di Roy in a pillar of ice that froze him and started to crack as Rukia turned to face Sombra and Ichigo, "Sode no Shirayuki doesn't simply freeze the ground... everything that is within the circle, both the earth and the sky, is within her frozen domain."
It was in the following moment that Sombra felt Di Roy's reiatsu go out as the pillar of ice shattered, leaving nothing of the Arrancar behind, though at the same time that was good news for them, since that only left five more Arrancar for them and the others to fight and defeat... though as that happened the Arrancar he had been waiting for finally revealed where they were located, as the area shook under the intense reiatsu that they generated and both Ichigo and Rukia were affected, all while all he did was glance around for his target.
"What the hell? Di Roy's been killed?" a voice asked, to which Sombra glanced at the Arrancar that had spoken, finding one that had his jacket opened to reveal his Hollow hole, the remains of his mask resting above his right jawbone, and light blue colored hair that was spiked, though what really caught his attention was the second blade he was carrying, as it almost looked like a mirror image of Shokyo in her sealed form, "I expected him to actually put up a fight, but to die in such a manner is disgraceful. Oh well, I guess that means that when I'm done with you, Sombra, that I can take my time and beat up both of your friends while the others tear their targets apart."
"You know my name, yet I don't know yours," Sombra replied, though at the same time he shifted his stance into one that suggested that he was ready for battle, which he was, and prepared himself for the battle that was to come, because he knew that this Arrancar was here for him and him alone.
"That's easy to fix: I'm Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, the Sexta Espada." the Arrancar stated, though his smile only grew as he raised his hand and tossed the second sword into the air, where it sailed towards Sombra for a few seconds, who caught it before it could even reach the ground, "Allow me to make one thing clear: Di Roy was one of the Numeros, one of the weaker Arrancar that Aizen created for his army, and I, as one of the ten Espada, am one of the strongest Arrancar that has been reborn by the Hogyoku, given the number Six because of my power. Those that are raised to the rank of an Espada are given the numbers One through Ten, from the strongest to the weakest, with Yammy being the one at the very bottom of our group, and our numbers are tattooed somewhere on our bodies, as my number is located on my back, just above my Hollow hole. Ulquiorra told me that at your current level you can beat anyone below me, and that includes the Arrancar that are the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Espada, while also revealing that you didn't have your Arrancar blade, which is what I have returned to you, because I want to show him that we have nothing to fear from you."
Sombra said nothing as Grimmjow told him that, rather he glanced down at the blade that he had caught and raised it for a moment, where he gripped the handle and slowly drew it from it's scabbard, where he found that the blade seemed to be a mirror image of Shokyo's sealed form, while the blade itself had an ebony tint to it. As he stared at his Arrancar Zanpakuto for a moment something stirred in his mind, just as he felt the spirit of the blade incorporate itself into his inner world, before a surge of power raced to the surface and his world seemed to go dark for a moment as he hung his head and glanced at the ground. Ichigo and Rukia stared at him for a moment, wondering what was going on with him at the moment, while at the same time feeling the increase to Sombra's reiatsu and realized that he was incorporating his true power into what he already had, pushing his power to the highest point it could reach, before something else started to happen. Sombra's reiatsu started to feel darker than it usually was, more sinister, and when his aura wrapped around him for a few seconds it had an ebony tint to it, unlike the blue that it took on most of the time, that was when the both of them realized that something bad was happening... while at the same time Grimmjow grinned as he rushed towards where Sombra was standing and threw his fist at the unsuspecting Arrancar.
What actually happened caught Grimmjow off guard, as Sombra raised his left hand and grabbed his fist before it made contact, though as that happened he noticed that the scabbard was now attached to the left side of Sombra's body, the blade he had given him was in his right hand, and there were strands of purple energy emitting from his opponent's brilliant crimson eyes, which were now surrounded by a grayish sap green colored sclera, making him look more sinister than he had been moments ago.
"Thanks for returning my blade, Grimmjow." Sombra said, though that was when Grimmjow's eyes widened for a moment, because the voice that came from his opponent sounded crueler than what it had been earlier, and he realized that something must have gone horribly wrong.
It was in the following moment that Sombra pushed Grimmjow's hand back and then kicked him in the chest, sending him backwards for a few seconds, though instead of giving him time to recover Sombra flashed through the air and zeroed in on his opponent with what Grimmjow realized was a cruel smile on his face. Grimmjow barely had time to react as Sombra swung his empty arm towards him and strands of energy burst out from his palm, striking him in the chest several times in a row, before Sombra appeared above him and swung his blade at him, where a burst of reiatsu slammed into him and sent him flying into the ground. A crater formed around him as he struck the ground, one large enough to cover the intersection that they were now suddenly fighting in, and Grimmjow had to cough up a few bits of blood in the process, all while Sombra landed on the ground in front of him, which caused him to growl as he got up and threw another punch at his opponent, who dodged the attack rather easily and uppercut him into the air. He had just enough time to correct himself before Sombra appeared behind him, delivering a powerful kick to his back that sent him flying into the ground below them, back into the crater, though that was when he noticed that his opponent wasn't chasing him and seemed to be studying him this time around.
Grimmjow coughed up a few more drops of blood in the process, as he hadn't even drawn his sword and he was getting the stuffing beaten out of him, before an idea came to mind as he flung his blood into the air in front of him and let his reiatsu flare, forming a bright blue sphere that had seven strands of energy gathering in the center of his palm, which was leveled with his target.
"Eat this! The ultimate Cero that only the Espada are allowed to use!" Grimmjow declared, allowing the power to build for a few moments, as a fully powered version of this attack was much stronger than what it was when it was barely charged, and he knew that from experience, "The Gran Rey Cero!"
The space between them rippled for a moment as he sent the Gran Rey Cero flying through the air, where it raced towards where Sombra was standing and exploded upon impact, causing him to laugh for a few moments, as he had been getting worked up over nothing, before his laughter stopped when the smoke started to clear. Standing there, like nothing had happened, was none other than Sombra, but where Grimmjow expected to see some sort of damage, to tell him that his attack had done something, he found that his opponent wasn't even hurt at all, like the Gran Rey Cero, the strongest Cero of them all, had done nothing. He couldn't believe his eyes, because even in his sealed form that attack should have caused the area around Sombra to be destroyed and his body to be damaged, but there he was, standing there like his attack had never existed, before Sombra flashed through the air and reappeared behind him, barely giving him time to consider what was happening before he was blasted back up into the air. As he struggled to find his balance Sombra appeared to the side and punched him in the left side of his face, knocking him closer back to where Ichigo Kurosaki was located, though he wasn't concerned with the Shinigami at the moment, not when his true opponent was starting to approach him once more.
"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo called out, as the moment that Sombra had begun the battle with Grimmjow, regardless of how strong he was, he knew that his friend would need assistance, which was why he had slipped into his Bankai form and was firing the powerful black Getsuga at the Espada he was fighting.
Grimmjow had a few seconds to raise his defenses before the attack struck him, blowing up the area around him in the process, but as the smoke cleared he found that a gash, which would likely scar once this fight was over, that had formed on the front of his chest... though as he huffed for a few seconds, however, Sombra appeared nearby with a frown on his face, and he was staring at Ichigo.
"I... got him." Ichigo said, though that was good news for them, because with the two of them working together they could say that Grimmjow would see defeat and the other Arrancar would shortly follow in his footsteps, before he noticed that something was wrong with Sombra, "What?"
"This fight does not concern you, Ichigo Kurosaki." Sombra stated, to which he turned his back to Ichigo and faced his opponent, who was shocked by what was going on at this point, while at the same time Ichigo was also surprised by how his friend sounded, "Go wait on the sidelines like everyone else."
Ichigo had no idea what had happened to his friend, but this version of him that sounded eviler, looked crueler, and felt more sinister than what he was used to wasn't okay with him, though when Sombra glanced back at him for a second, with an uncaring look in his cold eyes, he gulped and backed off... and, oddly enough, even his inner Hollow was silent, which told him that something horrible was going on as he landed beside Rukia and looked at the duo.
"Sorry for the interruption, Grimmjow. It was not my intention to allow such a thing to happen." Sombra said, to which he gave his opponent his full attention once more, once more with the frown on his face, before he considered what he knew about the Arrancar he had seen so far, "Unleash your Resurreccion, Grimmjow. At this rate it's the only thing that might allow you to survive this battle... or don't and I'll keep tearing you apart. It's your choice."
Grimmjow actually considered his options for a moment, because at this point he knew that fleeing wasn't an option since Sombra could easily catch up with him if he tried that, fighting in his sealed form was getting him nowhere fast, not when his opponent was tearing through his attacks and defenses, meaning that fighting in his Resurreccion had to be the only way he'd survive this, though he couldn't believe that he was even thinking of doing this. Instead of attempting to fight with his Zanpakuto, as he believed that it would actually fail him more than what he was currently doing, Grimmjow drew the blade from it's scabbard and positioned it so the blade was facing towards him, while at the same time placing his left hand upon it while it glowed light blue. The air around him vibrated for a moment as he considered what he was going to do, as the only ways to turn back were to release the form himself or be forced back into his sealed state, before prepared himself and stared at his opponent.
"Grind," Grimmjow declared, to which he raked his hand along the edge of his Zanpakuto in one swift motion, which was normal for him to do, while at the same time his incredible reiatsu rose to the surface and started to seep out as he finished his Release Call, "Pantera!"
It was in the moment that he finished calling out the Release Call and name of his Zanpakuto that a torrent of spiritual power erupted from where he was standing and created a tremendous gust of wind in the immediate vicinity around him, all while Sombra stared down at him. As the wind and dust cleared Sombra found that Grimmjow's appearance had undergone some drastic changes, as he had become something more feline and predatory, especially since his teeth had become jagged and sharp, his hands had turned into black claws and his feet became black clawed paws, similar to that of a cat, along with him also gaining a slender whip-like tail that was longer than his body. Grimmjow's hair had become very long and flowing, as opposed to it's original style, and the markings around his eyes had enlarged and extended to the tips of his ears, which had become swept back and more cat-like. He also lost his distinctive jaw mask, which was replaced by some sort of headgear that rested upon his brow and happened to cover his forehead, while at the same time his clothing had changed to a more form-fitting white segmented armor, no doubt similar to his original Hollow form, and he even had blades protruding from his forearms and his calves.
Once the transformation was complete, and the area had died down, Grimmjow glared at him and loosed a roar that shook the air between them, though while both Ichigo and Rukia were shocked by the change in his form and his power, as they weren't expecting him to be this powerful, Sombra stood there with a smile on his face.
Grimmjow wasted no time in bursting up into the sky as he raced towards Sombra, but instead of attacking from the front he maneuvered himself a little so his first attack would seem like it was coming from the front, when the second, and more powerful attack, would be coming from the side. What he wasn't expecting, however, was for Sombra to parry the first attack and knock him backwards a little, only for him to swing his right arm and cut a light gash, going from his left hip to his right shoulder, through his Hierro and drew some of his blood in the process. Despite that happening he engaged his speed and started attacking from every side, trying to find some weakness that he could exploit and then use to damage his opponent, but no matter what he did, and no matter what angle he attacked from, Sombra seemed to be staring at him and seemed to know where each attack was coming from. The worst part was that his opponent was a little distracted, as it appeared that the rest of his Fraccion, whether or not they had noticed his transformation, were mostly releasing their own Resurreccions as the other enemies pulled out their full power, if the rush of reiatsu was anything to go by... though that was before Sombra moved out of the way of his next attack and leveled his palm with Grimmjow's chest, sending him flying through the air before he had a chance to recover himself.
A few seconds later Grimmjow growled and corrected himself, dropping into a stance that was from his days as a panther Hollow that was an Adjuchas, before rushing forward and swinging his claws at Sombra, which were further enhanced with some bits of his reiatsu so he could cleave the area around him in the process. When he showed the other Espada his Resurreccion, as that was something most of them had done so they could understand the positions they had been given, he had been told that his power was too destructive, but right now he was happy that his power was this way as he continued to attack Sombra with all his might. His opponent seemed to be stunned by the sheer power that he was using against him, since he wasn't swinging either of his swords around at the moment, and that allowed Grimmjow time to push him backwards and take control of the fight, as he shoved Sombra around the air a few times and made sure that he was on the receiving end of every attack. Even when he kicked his opponent, which was usually guarded, there was nothing from him, like he was either waiting for him to do something or he was just bored of the fight, which annoyed Grimmjow and caused him to increase the power he was using behind each of his attacks, as he wasn't about to let Sombra walk away from this without something to remember him by.
What really annoyed him was when he sent Sombra flying into the side of a building and a crater formed around him, while somehow not sustaining any injuries in the process, but before Grimmjow could move in and secure the victory Sombra moved and tested his muscles for a moment, like he had woken up from a nap or something.
"Thanks for that, Grimmjow." Sombra replied, to which his dark aura returned once more, telling Grimmjow and those that were watching them that he was about to get serious, meaning that everything up to this point had been the warmup for him, before he shifted his stance, "Here I come."
The side of the building shattered as Sombra burst forward and surged towards where Grimmjow was standing, who had to raise his left arm to guard himself as an attack came at him, as he was using the blade on his arm to stall the swing, but what he wasn't expecting was for his opponent's strength to suddenly be even stronger than it had been a few moments ago. That told him that either Sombra was still holding back, in terms of power before using his Resurreccion, or his power was still stabilizing now that his Arrancar blade had been returned, but even then he guessed it didn't matter, not when Sombra forced his arm out of the way and then raised his left hand. It was in that moment that Grimmjow noticed that his opponent's hand was ablaze with power, as there were a few ebony colored strands of energy gathering around his fingers as he grinned at him, where Grimmjow realized that he wasn't going to be able to dodge the attack before it was used against him. The ebony energy slammed into his chest and knocked him backwards through the air, sending him flying away from Sombra, but that seemed to be what his opponent wanted, as not a few seconds later Sombra flashed above him once more and slammed a ball of energy, about three times as big as his head, right into his chest, this time sending Grimmjow right back into the ground.
Grimmjow coughed as he started to pick himself back up, as he was surprised and shocked by the sheer power that his foe commanded in his sealed state, and before he could even move out of the area Sombra flashed into the area in front of him and punched him back into the air a little, which was following by a burst of punches that kept him stunned, floating in front of his opponent, before Sombra uppercut him and knocked him back into the air. As he regained himself, however, Sombra crossed the distance that was between them and swung his blade down at him, cutting a diagonal gash from his right shoulder to his left hip, before spinning around and kicking him backwards once more, where he struck the side of a different building and shattered the windows that were around him. He rested there for a few seconds, trying to figure out what was going on, before he growled and started to pull himself free, though that was when he noticed that Sombra was grinning and that his left hand was extended towards him, where the shadows around him started to come to life before his very eyes. In that moment Grimmjow guessed that Sombra's true power came from the darkness around them, or the shadows that he had been ignoring the entire time, though as he started to jump towards his target, so he could rend the life from him, something pierced his left leg and caused him to growl in pain... only to find that the shadows on the side of the building had transformed into a blade of some kind, one that morphed into a hand that gripped his leg and sent him flying towards his opponent.
Sombra moved to the side as Grimmjow came flying towards him, where he spun around and kicked him so his opponent could fly towards the ground below them, but it didn't stop there as he gathered some more energy to his left hand and started firing a surge of small blasts, about the size and length of a finger, that struck Grimmjow multiple times before he collided with the ground. Sombra let his smile remain on his face, as he had been wondering if his Dark Bullet, or Bala Oscura, technique would work like everything else he had tried so far, and, judging by the small indents on his opponent's body and the blood that Grimmjow coughed up when the surge of blasts was over, he had to admit that his attack had worked like he thought it would. As his opponent started to move, and come to terms with the power that was being used against him, Sombra descended towards the ground and let his power gather above his left hand again, forming another sphere of energy, though this time he had something different in mind as he landed beside Grimmjow and placed the ball a few inches above his chest. The instant he removed his hand gravity seemed to turn itself on Grimmjow, as he found himself being pressed into the ground as the street around him cracked and sank under the pressure that he was feeling, and all Sombra did was stare at him as he checked off another power that could be used in battle... before he waved his hand and the Dark Press, or Prensa Oscura, attack vanished as quickly as it had been formed, giving his opponent the chance to catch his breath before he wrapped things up.
While Grimmjow laid there for a few moments, trying to understand what was happening while he caught his breath, Sombra moved his hand for a few seconds as he wove one last power into existence, as he wanted to try one more thing before he punished his opponent... and not a few seconds later the attack was in place, as a black circle appeared on the ground around the crater and seemed to be waiting for something, which was when Grimmjow got up so he could attack while his foe was distracted.
"We can't have you doing that, can we?" Sombra asked, to which Grimmjow found his body frozen in the black circle, indicating that he had walked right into his enemy's trap once more, before Sombra glanced at the area around them as he felt what was going on around them, "Oh my, it seems like the other Arrancar that you arrived with have finally been destroyed by the Shinigami that they chose to fight. Such a shame. I was hoping that at least one of them would survive their encounters, but it seems like all of them have died in some manner... oh well, I guess that means I can finish you off and move on with my plan."
"No way. My Fraccion is dead?!" Grimmjow stated, though as he activated his Pesquisa, which was dangerous while he was in the middle of a fight, all he could detect were the Shinigami that they had fought, telling him that the Hollows he had known before becoming an Arrancar were all dead, before he stared at Sombra, "Wait, what do you mean by 'plan'? Aren't you supposed to be guarding this town?"
"Why bother telling you anything, when you're going to die in the next couple of minutes?" Sombra replied, to which he took a few steps back and let his power surge through the black circle that had formed around Grimmjow, who looked down at the attack with shock in his eyes, "Pilar Abisal."
Grimmjow barely had time to register what was going on as a surge of energy erupted from the ground around him, where the shadows that had gathered in the circle lashed out at him and not only cut several gashes into his body, but also blasted him and left burn marks where those attacks hit him. It was a painful experience, one that was unlike anything he had experienced in the past, and before he knew it the attack was over, allowing him to move once more, though as he regained that ability he staggered for a few seconds and coughed up some blood as some drops fell from his wounds, only for his hold on his Resurreccion to break. Sombra watched as Grimmjow's panther-like form shattered and he reverted back to his sealed state, the power being drawn back into his Arrancar blade, which formed as his hold on his Resurreccion broke, before the more Human Grimmjow fell to one knee and coughed as he used his blade, in his right hand, to try and support himself.
"So, you survived by Pilar Abisal, or Abyssal Pillar, attack." Sombra commented, though at the same time he wasn't very impressed, not when he could have made the attack much larger than it had been and could have increased the duration of the attack as well, but this was a decent test of his powers and he was thankful for the chance to see what he was capable of doing at the moment, "Oh well, I guess that it's time that I finished you off and moved on to whoever is coming to check on you and your dead allies."
"Not yet!" Grimmjow snapped, to which he gripped his sword and started to move into a standing position so he could attack his opponent once more, though before he could get too far into the motion the shadows beneath him reacted to Sombra's command and a long shadowy blade went right through the lower and upper parts of his leg, causing him to growl in pain as he was stopped in his tracks.
"You don't seem to understand the position that you are currently in." Sombra replied, though that was when another bit of the shadows that rested around them surged forward and struck Grimmjow's open left hand, causing the Espada to curse at him as the shadows formed a chain and pulled his arm until it was stretched all the way out, "I guess that some punishment is in order first, that should let you understand the position you're in, before I decide how I'm going to bring an end to your life."
Grimmjow's eyes widened as Sombra swung his sword in an upward slashing motion and felt the blade dig into his flesh for a moment, though that was soon followed by his left arm, and that meant everything from the area near his left shoulder and going all the way down to his hand, being separated from his body as he growled in sheer pain, all while watching as the severed body part landed near the right side of Sombra's body.
"Hado Number 54: Haien." Sombra said, where the power of the Kido in question gathered around his blade for a moment, before he swung his sword towards the part of Grimmjow's arm that he had severed, which was when a purple blast raced forward from the blast, struck the arm, and incinerated it, leaving only ashes behind that scattered in the wind as he turned back towards his opponent, "Now then, have you any last words before you die?"
"Return him to me, so that I can take him to Lord Aizen." a voice replied, to which Sombra turned around and found Tosen, wearing some clothing that replaced his Shinigami attire, standing behind him, though he wasn't surprised to see that someone came for Grimmjow, "He mobilized five Arrancar and attacked the World of the Living, against our Lord's orders, and he has not only lost those Arrancar, but also one of his arms in the process. Lord Aizen is upset with him and his punishment will be decided in Hueco Mundo, by the person that went through the effort to..."
In the moment that Tosen was talking Sombra swung his sword through the air and forced Tosen to draw his own Zanpakuto to defend himself, though the attack was merely meant to push him back a little, despite the light gash that had been cut into his chest, showing that the force of Sombra's attack was stronger than what he expected it to be... though that was followed by Sombra grabbing Grimmjow by the neck and threw him at Tosen, with a bored look on his face.
"I don't know if it's your lucky day or not, Grimmjow," Sombra said, staring at the wounded and drained Arrancar for a moment, who barely had the strength to lift his head and stare at him in return, before focusing on Tosen, despite the fact that the enemy was blind, "but you're lucky that Tosen showed up when he did. If he arrived a few minutes later he'd be hauling a corpse back to Hueco Mundo... now get out of my sight, before I decide to change my mind and kill both of you before you have a chance to leave."
Tosen stared at Sombra for a moment, to the best of his ability anyway, before turning to his right and made the same motion that Ulquiorra used when he opened a Garganta back to Hueco Mundo, to which he pulled Grimmjow, and his sheathed sword, into the tunnel between worlds and disappeared. Sombra sighed for a moment, as his fun had been crushed with the arrival of Tosen, though before he could move out and find something else to do he felt a familiar reiatsu appear nearby and turned his head as Yoruichi flashed into the area, which caused him to raise his empty left hand to his head for a moment. As Yoruichi started to approach him, however, he made a decision and slipped his Arrancar sword back into it's scabbard, before closing his eyes and focused on what he was attempting to do, which was followed by the stands of energy that had been emitting from his eyes vanishing entirely. A few seconds later he swayed for a moment before falling to his knees, which was when Yoruichi rushed forward, as she had been worried when she felt the change in his reiatsu and couldn't believe what she had seen, which was why she had hidden her reiatsu until Sombra was distracted enough for her to approach without being seen as a threat.
"Sombra, are you alright?" Yoruichi asked, though even as she asked that she noticed the second Zanpakuto on his belt, opposite of where Shokyo rested, and knew that someone had found and returned his Arrancar blade, which must have been the cause behind what happened.
"I... I don't know." Sombra admitted, though when he opened his eyes she found that they were normal, as the green parts and the purple mist were gone, but he seemed concerned about something as he glanced at the second blade he was now carrying, "All I remember is getting this back from Grimmjow, giving me a moment to stare at it, and the next thing I knew I was suddenly a passenger in my own body... the spirit inside my Arrancar blade, the person I used to be before losing my memories, suddenly pushed me aside like I didn't matter and seized control. He tore his way through Karakura Town without a care in the world, tested the limits of Grimmjow's powers, and then tore our opponent down like he was nothing... what kind of person was I before I came here?"
"I don't know," Yoruichi replied, as she really didn't have an answer for that question, because Sombra was the first Arrancar that had lost their memories in such a manner, but seeing him like this hurt, especially when she had no idea how they were supposed to fix it, "but we'll figure out how to stop the old you from taking over again... and get your other powers back at the same time."
She wasn't sure what they, and by that she meant herself and those that had watched Sombra fight, had witnessed tonight, but it solidified the fact that Sombra was potentially the strongest Arrancar to have been created in the last thousand years, because even one of Aizen's top Arrancar couldn't compete with him... but even though this happened she knew that Aizen was planning something, and she had the feeling that they were going to need Sombra's power when their foe showed his face once more.
Grimmjow was barely aware of what was happening to him, because the pain from his wounds was making it hard for him to concentrate and keep his focus, but after some time he did notice that his senses were returning to him and that they were in Las Noches. The only reason he knew that was because he felt Ulquiorra's reiatsu nearby, along with Aizen's reiatsu as well, but after feeling the immense power that Sombra possessed, and was getting used to wielding again, he wasn't sure which of them was the strongest anymore. As his senses started to return he felt Tosen carrying him up to the throne that their Lord sat on, was still aware of the fact that he was missing part of his left arm, which had been destroyed by Sombra, and that he had to look terrible with all the wounds that he had suffered over the course of his fight in the World of the Living. Commander Gin was nowhere nearby, according to his senses anyway, yet he didn't try to find anyone else, as he barely had the strength to lift his head when Commander Tosen came to a stop near the throne and stopped carrying him, allowing him to crumble to the floor and cough for a moment, as his body was still in pain and the action had roughed him up a little.
A few moments later he moaned as he forced open his eyes and pushed himself into what could have been a sitting position, though for the most part he just wanted to lay back down and let his life drain from his body, because either way he felt like he was going to die today.
"Welcome back, Tosen." Aizen commented, once more keeping the same calculating look on his face, even though one of the people nearby couldn't see him, the second seemed to be too weak to do anything, and Ulquiorra was standing nearby just to watch what happened, "I see that you have collected Grimmjow... and got hurt as well."
"Yes. Sombra was much stronger than I expected him to be." Tosen replied, though at the same time he turned his head towards Grimmjow, who was trying to get into a decent sitting position despite the pain that was coursing through his body at the moment, before glancing up towards the throne, "Lord Aizen, I'm sorry for failing you. It appears that I got there too late to stop him from handing Sombra his Arrancar blade..."
"It's fine. I'm not upset." Aizen said, knowing that Tosen would be upset with himself for allowing their enemy to regain the tool that would unlock his true power, a power that, when combined with what he currently possessed, would give rise to the strongest classification of Hollow in all of Heuco Mundo, even though he intended for such a thing to happen at some point in time, "I believe that Grimmjow's actions were an attempt to please me by delivering to me the heads of my enemies, as a show of his loyalty towards me, only it got a little out of hand when the Shinigami tore his Fraccion apart. Is that correct, Grimmjow?"
"Yeah... I guess so." Grimmjow answered, as the force of Aizen's reiatsu had been enough to rouse him from his daze at long last, but at the same time it did nothing to dull the pain and he was thinking about the sheer power his enemy had commanded, the very power that Ulquiorra feared.
"I see." Tosen commented, though despite the fact that they were classifying his actions in such a way he knew that some sort of punishment had to be dealt to Grimmjow, to show the other Espada and the Arrancar what happened when someone went against Lord Aizen's orders and his wishes, "Lord Aizen, give me permission to execute him!"
"That won't be necessary, Tosen." Aizen said, as he was interested in the wounds that Grimmjow had suffered, as many of them seemed different from what Sombra's Shinigami based abilities could dish out, meaning that his true self had been in control of the fight, before he glanced at his subordinate, "Grimmjow now realizes that he acted out of line and has lost one of the things that he retained from his days as a Hollow, and that was his Fraccion, his best friends if I remember his story correctly. He has already been beaten to a point that's near death and he's had part of his left arm removed, not to mention destroyed according to what Ulquiorra saw, so there's no point in punishing him further, not when his days as an Espada are at an end. If he fails me again, then you can execute him. Ulquiorra?"
"Yes, Lord Aizen?" Ulquiorra replied, though at the same time he considered Grimmjow to be a very lucky Arrancar, because if it had been anyone that wasn't an Espada he was sure that their Lord would have killed them outright, while also bowing his head for a moment.
"Take Grimmjow to the infirmary and make sure they treat all his wounds," Aizen stated, knowing that some of them were likely going to scar, regardless of what happened to the Arrancar, before he thought of something else to say before they walked out of the roof, "I'll be by later to demote him."
Grimmjow stared at their Lord for a moment, knowing that the loss of his arm and his rank was a fitting punishment for him surviving against such an opponent, and he simply turned towards Ulquiorra and followed him out of the throne room as they headed towards the infirmary, where Yammy was staying while they reattached his severed arm... and yet, while they walked, there was something that he needed to get off his chest, especially after his run-in with Sombra.
"Hey, Ulquiorra," Grimmjow said, causing the Cuatro Espada to turn his head towards him while they walked, as he wasn't expecting him to talk while they headed down the hallway, but he remained silent as they did so, "let me just say that I'm sorry for doubting what you were saying earlier."
"You're... sorry?!" Ulquiorra replied, though at the same time that came as a shock to him, because in all the time that he knew the soon to be former Sexta Espada, since Aizen was going to demote him soon, he had never seen or heard Grimmjow state that he was sorry for anything he had done, and that made him wonder if he had suffered some brain damage during his fight.
"Yeah, you were right about the Dios Hueco," Grimmjow continued, knowing how odd it was for him to even say those words, as even Ulquiorra looked just a tiny bit shocked by what he had said, but he needed to do it, just in case he ended up dying before his wounds could be mended, "Sombra was able to beat me, in my Resurreccion form, with only whatever powers he was wielding and his Arrancar blade, and I was doing everything in my power to tear him down and destroy him before anything happened. Right now he's not at the level of the Dios Hueco, but that side of him is there, I could feel it the moment he drew the blade and attacked me, and it's only a matter of time until he figures out how to awaken that power and claim what is rightfully his. I'll be honest with you, Ulquiorra, I don't think the Espada have a chance of defeating him if you guys and my replacement get into a fight with him, even if you went at him ten to one."
Ulquiorra wondered if that was the information that all Hollows knew about the Dios Hueco talking, or if there was a chance that it was actually Grimmjow thinking for once and speaking his mind on a subject, but he knew that he and the other Espada above him could defeat Sombra before he ascended... all they had to do was wait for Lord Aizen to give them the command and they would ensure that the threat was taken care of before he became a real thorn in their sides.