//------------------------------//
// Arrancar: New Versus Old 
// Story: Bleach: Heart of a Hero 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

As Sombra requested, since his friend wasn't ready to begin the intense training that they had planned for him, the Visored left Ichigo alone for the rest of the day, allowing him to revert back to his normal Shinigami attire before he stared at the mask that had formed when he won his inner fight. Sombra did ask how Zangetsu was doing, as he was curious as to what his friend's true partner had said during their struggle, but all he got in return was that 'old man Zangetsu' wasn't there and that he had to beat his inner Hollow to restore him to being the main source of his power. He then stared at Ichigo for a few moments, wondering how in the world his friend hadn't figured out the truth, considering everything he said when the Hollow was in his presence, before he sighed and raised a hand to his head, as he had more important matters to deal with and could fix Ichigo's problem later. The look in Zangetsu's eyes, when he was battling him in this world, made that much more sense when he considered what Ichigo had said, and yet he felt sorry for the Zanpakuto spirit, being treated like he was an invader that had been created when Ichigo was trying to get his Shinigami powers back... and he'd figure out some way to get Ichigo to see the truth, once his own problem was taken care of.

Yoruichi had left shortly after he made the announcement that he was commandeering the Visoed's underground training area for his own purposes, something that they weren't too happy about, and Hiyori was the most pissed out of all of them, but they eventually realized that this was an opportunity to see the inner world of an Arrancar, something that they didn't know existed until he told them, and that was what stayed their hands. From what he knew of his friends, even though he only knew some of them for about a month or two while Yoruichi and Urahara were closer to six months, Sombra already knew that everyone from Urahara's shop would be here, Uryu was likely to skip out since he was busy with whatever his father had planned for him, and Orihime and Chad might come along, with Sora, just to see what was going on. Captain Hitsuguya and the other Shinigami might not come at all, since their job at the moment was to protect Karakura Town and ready themselves for the eventual fight with Aizen's forces, and he was perfectly fine with them not coming for that reason, so long as they didn't lie to him about why they weren't coming. Ichigo, of course, was coming along to see what the problem was, especially since Sombra had risked his life to hold off Zangetsu while he tamed the power that was inside him... but even then Sombra knew that none of them would be ready for the sheer power and the shocking appearance of who he used to be, something that he was still coming to terms with.

Even as he thought about it, and wondered how he could have been a pony when there weren't any creatures like that in this world, he thought back to his own Bankai training, where Shokyo showed him the final technique that she had told him to use against no one else, as she had prepared him for today... and he knew that he might need to use it, but would only be able to truly make the decision once the battle between him and Rey started.

"Hey, Sombra, I have a question." Ichigo spoke up, because after taking a few hours of rest he decided that it was time to move around, though that meant that he wanted to ask the one question that was bugging him, once he heard what his friend intended to do, "How are you going to pull so many people into your inner world?"

"I'll be using a Kido spell that's like Tanma Otoshi, or Time-Out Drop, which is what Shinji used on you earlier," Sombra replied, showing the Visored that he understood the techniques that a good number of Shinigami knew, only that his skills meant that he knew the vast majority of them, before he turned towards Ichigo, "I'll have a few people touch my arms and my back, and then the rest of the group will be touching their backs to make sure that they're within range of the spell that I intend to use. Once everyone is ready I'll have them close their eyes and focus on me, allowing me a few moments to prepare the Kido and then transport all of us into my inner world, just like what happened to you when you disconnected from this world and went to fight Zangetsu."

"You mean my inner Hollow." Ichigo stated, once more confused as to why Sombra insisted that Zangetsu and his inner Hollow were one and the same, just like his inner Hollow had insisted many times while they were fighting, before wondering if it was only something that Hollows and Arrancar knew about.

"The point is that once everyone is ready, I'm going to pull us into the Crystal Empire." Sombra said, deciding that now wasn't the time to point out to Ichigo that he was being a fool and that the person he had been fighting was actually his Zanpakuto spirit, as he had his own spirit to take out, "From there you and the others will get a front row seat to the battle between me and the spirit of my Arrancar Zanpakuto... as well as seeing who I used to be, before becoming an Arrancar and losing all my memories."

Ichigo nodded his head and kept quiet, as the idea that he and the others were going to see the old Sombra, who had dominated Grimmjow during their fight after Sombra looked at his Arrancar Zanpakuto, made him nervous, more so than when it was him fighting his inner Hollow, and he knew that the stakes were high. If Sombra won, and bested Rey in battle, he'd be able to stabilize his own immense powers and gain the knowledge of who he used to be, but on the other hand, if Sombra lost the battle, they'd be facing a creature so evil and terrifying that they might not be able to stop him. What he noticed was that there was something about Rey that Sombra hadn't told them, something that he had uncovered when he was trying to convince the Visored to grant him the knowledge he needed to force his inner Hollow into submission, and he had the feeling that they'd be finding that out when they went into Sombra's inner world. His own thoughts were interrupted when Yoruichi returned and told Sombra that she informed everyone that he wanted to invite to observe the fight, while saying that it seemed like the majority of them would be coming at the time he specified, before she told all of them what Captain Ukitake had discovered.

Sombra was shocked that Aizen was planning on erasing Karakura Town from existence and killing everyone that had called the town home, all to forge a key that would allow him to enter the domain of the Soul King, a creature he knew a little bit about, thanks to Urahara's books about Soul Society, and likely try to replace, revealing that they needed to be prepared for the eventual battle that was coming their way.

When the morning of the next day finally arrived, and Sombra rose to meet it with the Visored, he had to admit that he was a little surprised when they opened the main door of the warehouse, about halfway really, and found everyone that he had invited was present. Urahara, Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu were present, like he had figured they would be since they were all friends with each other and he felt that they deserved to be here when he did this, and he also discovered that Orihime, Sora, and Chad were present as well, though what was surprising about that was the Quincy that Sombra had felt near Uryu the night the Grand Fisher arrived had come to the warehouse for a few minutes. Ryuken Ishida pulled him to the side, as this was private and only for him to know at the moment, and told him that Uryu was 'just fine', as he was recovering from the intense training that he had put his son through in order to allow Uryu to regain the powers he lost in Soul Society, before walking away when the message was delivered, indicating that it would be some time before Uryu was ready to do anything. Once that was taken care of he turned to the real surprise, as Captain Hitsuguya and the rest of the Shinigami had arrived as well, though each of them had their own reason for wanting to come here, such as Ikkaku gaining information for Zaraki in case the two of them battled in the future, and he barely listened to the others as he and the Visored welcomed them inside.

Once everyone was inside the warehouse, and the main door was closed, Hachi restored the barrier that protected the building as the entire group headed down to the underground training area, which was where they all gathered as Sombra took a seat in the middle of the area... before everyone followed the instructions that he gave them, making sure that they were touching someone that was touching his arms and back, before they all closed their eyes and he worked the spell that he had been preparing, sending them all into his inner world in a matter of seconds.





Sombra heard a couple of moans, mostly from the Shinigami and his Human friends while Ichigo and the Visored made no noises at all, as he opened his eyes and found that his spell had worked like it was supposed to, as they were now standing on one of the balconies that the palace in the center of the empire had. He walked towards the edge of the balcony and looked out at the empire once more, taking in the sights that he had gotten used to when he was training who Shokyo, and he could hear the gasps coming from everyone else, indicating that they had opened their eyes and were seeing what he was staring at. Even though the Crystal Empire was surrounded by darkness, something that came from his Arrancar Zanpakuto, before he even knew where to find it, it was still a breathtaking place and he wondered, for what seemed like the hundredth time, if he had lived here at one point in time, which could have been why it could have been chosen to be his inner world. As he glanced at the empire, however, he heard another gasp that wasn't from the group behind him and glanced down at the street that was below them, where his eyes widened as he noticed a fair number of pony creatures, mares and stallions alike, standing all over the street, looking at them with shock in their eyes.

He had no idea what was going on at the moment, since they hadn't been here when he arrived to learn the name of his Arrancar Zanpakuto, but at the same time he had the feeling that Rey was responsible foe what he was seeing, and that meant he needed to act quickly, before things got out of control.

"Wow... this place is so beautiful." Orihime commented, as the empire, even in it's darkened state thanks to what Rey was doing to the area around it, was still stunning to those that were seeing it for the first time, and many members of the group nodded their heads, before she noticed something odd, "Sombra, what are those?"

"Ponies... no doubt the inhabitants of the Crystal Empire, brought back by Rey to tempt me," Sombra commented, but at the same time everyone else seemed to notice the ponies that were in the streets surrounding the palace, as they were everywhere, before he stared off at the mass of darkness that was off to the east of the palace, where he noticed his foe moving in the shadows, "You guys had better get comfy, because I suspect that this fight is going to be so intense that it rocks the barrier that's keeping the empire safe from the snow and the cold... and Rey's likely getting impatient."

Ichigo and the others watched as Sombra jumped into the air and started to make his way over to where he had seen his opponent, though he was still shocked by the fact that there were ponies, as Sombra called them, walking around the streets, only now they were standing still and following his friend with their eyes. When Sombra reached his destination, however, they all watched as the shadows parted and a unicorn stallion, who looked like his friend in an entirely different form and happened to be wearing some metallic armor with a red cape, stepped forward to greet him.

"He's... a unicorn?!" Ichigo said, as he couldn't believe what he was seeing, though all he could see was that Sombra had been killed at some point, forced to become a Hollow, and then eventually gained the power to become an Arrancar, unless he was wrong about something.

"It would seem so... and an evil one at that." Urahara commented, as he could feel the sheer power that the unicorn was emitting at the moment, something that the others could feel as well, and he knew that Sombra was going to be in for one of the toughest fights of his life, "Now then, let's see what happens when they start fighting."

Sombra, on the other hand, sighed as he stared at the pony version of himself, as it was hard to believe that this had been him at one point in time, that he had been an evil unicorn king, whose power was so great that he had pushed him to the side like he was nothing, but, as Rey stepped out of the shadows, Sombra drew Shokyo from her scabbard and readied himself for the battle that would be starting.

"We're not even half a minute into seeing each other and you're ready for a fight," Rey commented, though at the same time his horn glowed and an ebony katana, a mirror image of the one that was currently attached to the other side of Sombra's belt, appeared in the air near him as he readied himself as well, "I also see that you aren't using the blade that my spirit is currently stuck in at the moment."

"I don't want to hand my body over to you on a silver platter," Sombra replied, as he knew that if he drew the other blade, while Rey was still in the position that he was in, he'd likely lose his body before he could do anything else, before he focused his mind and his power, "Shimmer, Shokyo."

As Shokyo expanded into her crystalline broadsword form, and his reiatsu increased accordingly, Sombra rushed through the space between them and swung down at Rey, intending to use some of the power to knock him backwards, but what really happened was that Rey raised his own blade and parried the attack like it was nothing... before his horn glowed and he pulled them out into the snowy area that was some distance from the barrier, where he pushed Sombra back as the shadows danced around his form.

"Ah, it is good that you are so eager to fight... but, since it's been some time since I've used this body, I think I'll make some modifications," Rey commented, his tone revealing that whatever he was planning was only temporary, before the shadows consumed him and caused Sombra to raise his weapon, but not a few seconds later the shadows parted to reveal his own body standing before him, only there was an ebony tint to it and the armor his other self had been wearing had been modified to fit his more Human form, "Ah, that's better. Come, show me the power you possess, and I will show you my terrifying might."

Sombra stared at Rey for a moment, trying to figure out what his angle was, before the two of them flashed through the air and let their blades collide in the middle of the area that they were in, the force of their individual reiatsu pushing against each other and caused the air to shudder. Not even a few seconds later the two of them separated from each other, giving them a moment to stare at their opponent, before they started flashing around the battlefield that Rey had chosen for their duel, their blades connecting as one of them attacked and the other defended. When Sombra came from above with a downward swing Rey would either move to the side and avoid the attack, or he would swing his blade and catch the attack before it could hit him, though both instances were generally followed by him using an attack that required Sombra to do the same thing he did. Despite the fact that Rey didn't have the same experience that Sombra had, with moving with the body that he possessed, he did have his experience during his battle with Grimmjow to fall back on and that, somehow, allowed him to keep pace with Sombra's movements, meaning that their speed and power was just about equal at the moment... even though Sombra knew that he needed his Bankai to get anywhere, as this was just him testing Rey's abilities before he went all out, as was his custom when battling his enemies.

Unfortunately, however, that was when Rey decided to beat him to the punch and actually revealed the true power that he was wielding, as the moment he did so he pushed Sombra backwards and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying into the snow and caused a crater to form around him, but despite that Sombra wasn't about to be overpowered and defeated in such a short amount of time.

The sinister mist returned to Rey's eyes as he connected himself to the darkness, where he raised his empty hand and started firing several volleys of his Bala Oscura at Sombra, who had to duck and weave through the air as he attempted to avoid the bullet type attacks that his other self was using against him. It was hard to tell if Rey was intentionally missing or if the time spent away from his attacks had dulled his aim, because when he was fighting Grimmjow he had hit him with precision and right now Sombra was able to avoid his attacks like they were nothing, but just as he determined that his foe was messing with him Rey appeared above him and loosed his Prensa Oscura into his back, allowing the gravity to knock him out of the sky and send him flying straight into the ground. In the following seconds Rey grinned and loosed another volley of his Bala Oscura down upon Sombra's pinned body, putting several small dents into his back before hitting the sphere that was keeping him pinned to the ground, allowing Sombra to bypass the rest of the assault before coughing, as he now understood what happened to Grimmjow, especially since Rey was giving him the cruel smile this time... before he flashed down to where he was standing and knocked him into the sky with the same uppercut that he used against Grimmjow, and then kicked him right back into the ground.

When Sombra picked himself up he knew that holding back wasn't going to be an option at the moment, which was why he shifted Shokyo towards the ground and let his reiatsu flare as he called out the one word that would help him out, and not a few seconds later, as the wind and smoke disappeared, he stood there in his Bankai state, his armor shining as his skin took on the same transparent texture as the blade he held.

"Ah, so this is your Bankai," Rey commented, though at the same time he frowned, as if he felt that there should have been more to the technique and that he was disappointed him Sombra at the moment, before he raised a hand and beckoned for him to come at him once more, "I expected more from you. Why don't you draw my blade and see if you can handle a fraction of my true power."

Sombra knew that Rey was trying to trick him into drawing the other blade, if the events with Grimmjow were anything to go by, and he wasn't going to fall for that, so he sent some of his reiatsu into the ground for a few seconds and then, once he was ready, he drew himself to his full height and charged at Rey, who simply smiled as he parried the incoming attack that Sombra sent his way. That was only the beginning, as Sombra let his Hatakesho, his Field of Crystal, technique take effect as a number of crystal spires erupted from the ground around them, some of them reaching for Rey and missing him by just a few inches, while at the same time filling the area that they were fighting in with enough spires to make it feel like they were fighting inside a city or a town. Because Rey was distracted by the pillars and spikes, and his guard seemed to be open, Sombra flashed into the air behind him and gathered his reiatsu into his blade, to which he loosed a powerful Seiga, his Energy Fang, right into his opponent's back and blew the area around Rey to pieces, though as that happened Sombra landed nearby to keep an eye out for his opponent. When the smoke cleared Sombra found that Rey was almost undamaged by the attack, despite the scuff marks on his left glove, which meant that he might have used it to either catch the attack or used it as a shield when he noticed it coming, but all this told him was that Rey was strong and that he needed a good plan if he wanted to make it out of here without failing in his mission.

Rey grinned for a moment as he flashed into the air and grabbed onto Sombra's face before he had a chance to move out of the way, where he spun around and hurled Sombra into the side of one of the nearby crystal pillars, only for the force of the throw to send him through the entirety of it and into the side of the second one, destroying it as well. Sombra coughed as he pulled himself up from the wreckage of the crystals he had been tossed through, as he wasn't expecting his foe to actually apply such force when battling him, but at the same time he moved his muscles for a few seconds, to be sure that he was ready, before noticing that Rey was coming at him once more. Rey flew through the air and rapidly approached where Sombra was standing, though at the same time Sombra gathered his reiatsu into the edge of his blade and loosed a wave of energy at his target, who continued to wear his grin as he spun around and swung his right arm, to which a black wave of energy rushed forward and slammed into the brilliant blue one that Sombra had used. The two attacks collided in the middle of the air between them, looking like two crescents striking each other, before detonating and kicking up a large amount of smoke in the process... but as that happened Sombra jumped backwards, landed on the closest crystal pillar that was near him, and raised his left hand as his reiatsu started to gather in front of his palm.

As a black sphere with a green outline formed in front of his palm, and he intended to charge it to the point where it could blow a good portion of the area in front of him to pieces, the smoke around the pillars he had been thrown through earlier cleared and he noticed that Rey was forming a sinister purple colored Cero, which matched the mist that was coming from his eyes. The moment the two of them decided to release their attacks the beams raced forwards and collided with each other in the area between them, causing an immediate explosion that rocked the area and threw fire everywhere, all while Sombra moved to a better vantage point to figure out where Rey was heading. As it turned out Rey flew into the area above him and grinned as he leveled his empty hand towards Sombra, the familiar form of a Cero having formed while he was moving, and Sombra did the next best thing, he activated his Shukan, his Guard's Barrier, and formed a dome around him as the attack came at him, causing the space around him to be covered in smoke as the beam connected with his defenses, which ended up cracking in the process. It seemed that Rey had been planning on him doing that, as the moment Sombra lowered the barrier, and started to prepare his next attack for when the smoke cleared, Rey flashed through the air and surprised him, before loosing a wave of energy that struck his chest and sent him flying back down towards the ground, where it exploded the moment he struck the crystal pillar that had been in the way.

Sombra moaned as he picked himself up and the pillar fell apart, as he wasn't surprised that Rey was dominating the fight, but he was shocked by the fact that he wasn't able to actually do anything substantial against his foe, even though he was beginning to see the pattern that Rey was using... and he knew that he needed to use the most powerful technique that Shokyo had taught him, as this was the reason that it existed in the first place, to help him beat his old self.

A few moments ticked by as Sombra readied himself, allowing his full power to rise to the surface this time around, before he opened his eyes and flashed up to where Rey was standing, who was happy to see that he had taken the time he offered him to continue the battle, before swinging his sword and gladly let his opponent block his attack. As that happened Sombra let the air around him shudder as he pushed against Rey, who seemed happy that he was now offering him a challenge, before he spun around and kicked Rey in the side of his chest, knocking him through the air as he followed after him. In the following seconds Sombra raised his blade, now having energies dance around his weapon, before he loosed a Seiga right into Rey's exposed chest, the force of which sent his opponent flying towards the ground and blasted another crater into the ground, only for Rey to fly out of the smoke and come at him once more. Sombra dodged the attack that was coming his way and stared at his opponent as blue energy danced around his left hand, an indication that he had been planning something else and that Rey had walked right into his trap, meaning that this fight might not be as cut and dry as his old self seemed to think.

"O Lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man!" Sombra recited, going through the entire incantation, since that would allow him to use the Kido spell to it's greatest potential since no incantation meant that it was significantly weaker, and right now he needed his attacks to be powerful, "Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws. Hado Number 33: Sokatsui!"

In the following seconds he loosed a powerful torrent of blue energy that rippled through the air and struck Rey in the middle of his chest, which was followed by an instantaneous explosion as his attack made contact with his opponent and swallowed the crystals that were around him. Sombra, on the other hand, removed his right hand from Shokyo's handle, allowing her to float in the air near him, before he lowered both of his hands towards the smoke and let some red energy dance around them, where he started 'punching' the ground and loosed the Bala technique that he had been told about when he confronted Ulquiorra and Yammy earlier. He was able to send a few of the fast Bala blasts through the air and struck the ground that Rey had been knocked into, destroying more of the area in the process, before he sensed Rey's movements and stopped doing that, where he transferred his reiatsu back into Shokyo and loosed a Seiga through the air to the left, where Rey appeared with a shock on his face before the attack collided with his chest and detonated, blasting him out of the air and causing him to fall towards the ground once more.

This time Sombra followed after Rey and appeared near him when he got up from the crater that had formed around his opponent, where the two of them allowed their blades to connect with each other and caused the air to shudder, but instead of doing anything else they stood there and let their blades dance as they fought in the immediate area, one of them attacking and one of them defended. As the two of them did that, however, Sombra discovered that Rey's chest armor was scratched up at the moment, a result of taking his attacks to the chest, but despite that his foe was still fighting with all his power, showing him that he wasn't really hurt in any fashion and that he was still using all of his strength in the battle that they were having. Of course, as he parried the next attack that was aimed at his chest, he knew that Rey was holding back his powerful techniques, as there had to be something other than the number of attacks that Rey had used in his battle against Grimmjow earlier, which worried him since the Pilar Abisal, his Abyssal Pillar, hadn't been used yet and it was only a matter of time until he activated that technique. Of the named techniques that he knew about, from the ones that his other self had used against Grimmjow, the last one that Rey has used was the one he was keeping an eye out for, though at the same time he was surprised that Rey wasn't using the shadows against him.

The unfortunate part came when Rey's energy danced around him and he forced the two of them to separate from each other, but this time around he remained where he was standing and stared at Sombra, who was staring at him as he wondered what his old self was planning this time.

"Now this, THIS is what I expected when you activated your Bankai," Rey commented, showing that he was glad that Sombra was actually putting up a fight, as the beginning of their fight had been boring for him and he had some excitement from what had been going on, even if his armor had some scuff marks from the other attacks, "though at the same time I'm disappointed with you... you failed to account for something."

"Really? And what is that?" Sombra asked, though at the same time he prepared himself once more and readied his Zanpakuto, as his opponent's words could be intended to stall him long enough to charge whatever attack he was thinking about using, which was why he was making sure that Rey didn't get the chance to use that.

"You forgot the shadows," Rey stated, to which the shadows around him danced as he readied whatever attack he was preparing this time around, but that was followed by the sinister smile returning in full force once more, as if he had something else that Sombra didn't know about, before he snapped his fingers, "and, at the same time, you only tied your hands by bringing those 'friends' of yours to our inner world."

Sombra turned around for a moment as he heard a cracking sound, to which he, as well as the people that had come with him to his inner world, watched as the barrier that was protecting the Crystal Empire cracked as black gashes started to appear in the dome, before it shattered like it was made of glass and revealed that the entire city was now threatened by whatever Rey was planning. Rey, of course, smiled as he raised his hand and the shadows gathered together to form what appeared to be a large ball of dark energy, one that could easily wipe out the palace and the surrounding area that was around it, and Sombra realized what was going to happen, including the fact that this wasn't something that Orihime would be able to reject if it was thrown. A few seconds later Rey waved his hand in a throwing motion and the sphere went flying towards the Crystal Empire, to which Sombra flashed through the air and put himself between the empire and his opponent's attack, choosing to protect his friends and allies from what Rey was planning, before gasping as pain danced through his body as he forced the attack to stop just before where the barrier used to be and detonated, punching another crater into the ground and caused him to cough as he dropped to one knee for a moment.

He honestly never expected Rey to launch an attack at the empire itself, where his friends were watching the fight and were likely worried about him, and mentally cursed himself for not thinking about such a thing happening, but right now he needed to figure out what he was going to do to beat his old self, who was approaching him at the moment.

"Just as I thought, all I had to do was threaten your friends and you blindly rushed to their aid," Rey stated, though at the same time he stopped at the edge of Sombra's crater and stared down at him, as if his earlier excitement had been replaced by more disappointment, before he glanced at the weapon that Sombra wasn't using, "I've grown tired of you not using my blade, as that would have made this fight more than fair from the beginning, so I'm just going to bring an end to this battle and claim what is mine... and before I do that there are some things you need to see, to understand who we used to be before I take my rightful place as the King of the Crystal Empire, and you become nothing more than someone I've conquered and suppressed."

Sombra was expecting Rey to form something from the shadows and give him and presentation, or something like that, but what actually happened was his old persona sent the shadows at him and they wrapped around them, barely giving him a chance to flee, before the darkness surged into his mind and the world seem to go blank. That was followed by a serious of images being showed to him, from the moment Rey could form his first memory up till the end, the feelings that he felt every step of the way, when he was faced with obstacles that were in his way, and even Rey's thoughts on what was happening at any given moment. It was intense, Sombra could tell that the moment the images started to flow into his mind, and yet, as the memories flowed into him, he found himself staring at a much younger version of his pony self, and he was standing next to a young unicorn mare that had a pink-purple colored coat and a brilliant cornflower blue colored mane and tail, Radiant Hope as the memories informed him. He could tell, just from the tone that was used when the name was said, that at this point in time both he and Radiant had been close friends, as it appeared that they were actually the outcasts in the Crystal Empire, and that had formed a unique friendship between the two of them.

He observed them for a few moments, feeling Rey's old thoughts while this was going on, and he was sure that they would have been stuck in this situation for a long time, though when the two of them gazed at the crystalline heart that rested in the middle of the empire, however, things started to change. From what he could determine Radiant Hope had seen herself being a princess of some kind when she was older, something that he guessed even ponies dreamed of when they were fillies, while his younger self, on the other hand, was terrified of what the future held for him, no doubt seeing the darkness that Sombra was currently facing. Not too long after that the scene shifted to the two of them wanting to go to the Crystal Faire, where the memories informed him that it was an annual event that the Crystal Ponies, the ones that he had seen when he and the others arrived in his inner world, held every year to renew the spirit of love and unity to protect the empire from harm, though the downside was that Sombra's younger self fell ill when the faire came around and Radiant, being the good friend she was, stuck by his side and didn't leave him alone.

That happened for a number of years, where Radiant Hope couldn't attend the Crystal Faire as the younger Sombra suffered every year, the pain growing more and more intense as the years went by, before his only friend used her own magic and somehow healed Sombra, gaining her Cutie Mark, a mark that reflects that pony's special talents and were often related to their personality, in the process. Unfortunately that was followed by the princess of Canterlot, a kingdom that was some distance away from the Crystal Empire, inviting Radiant to come and study with them, to which Sombra watched as his younger self's only friend went off to see what Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had to offer, clearly with the intention of coming back to aid him and, perhaps, finally make it so he wasn't in pain when the annual faire happened. With his best friend no longer around, and none of the other ponies would talk to him for some odd reason, Sombra sadly watched as his younger self ran into the frozen wastes outside the empire and found a cave that held a red crystal, one that revealed that he was an Umbrum, a shadow pony, and that the power of the Crystal Heart was what was killing him every year when the Crystal Faire happened.

In Sombra's mind, despite the fact that he was witnessing all of this happen before his eyes, he realized that whoever had been speaking through the crystal had told his younger self the truth, as the Crystal Heart was at it's strongest when the Crystal Faire happened, which was the same day he was sick every year... and yet, even as he figured that out on his own, he watched as his younger self awakened his dormant powers, his horn turning from a straight unicorn horn and became the red curved horn he bared, before getting to work.

It was during that time that he came across another mare, not a Crystal Pony by the looks of her, that happened to be lost in the frozen wastes and, despite all the odds, she seemed to cause his younger self to remember Radiant Hope and helped her out with her directions. Oddly enough the mare was looking for a place for her and her younger sister, who was off having fun with a pegasus friend she had made, to move to so they could get away from their abusive mother, who seemed to love to beat them when one of them did something wrong, or when one of her subjects failed her and they happened to be present. Sombra then learned that the mare was a shapeshifter, a Changeling, and that her story was entirely true, that she and her sister, both heirs to the throne, were trying to leave their mother, the queen, before one of them ended up dead, and despite all that both of them found some interest in the other and a new relationship seemed to have been forged in the cave, with the crystal forgotten. It was the second time that his younger self felt love towards another, as the first was Radiant Hope, but after a few weeks the princess, Amaryllis as he found out, said that she needed to grab her sister, her little Chryssie, before anything happened to her... and, as fate would have it, that was the last time that his younger self saw the Changeling, but it wasn't because she had lied to him.

It just so happened that, during the time they had spent together, his younger self had cast a protection spell on the princess, to make sure that she was safe, and was only aware of it failing when someone even stronger than him severed the connection and ended Amaryllis' life... though the only thoughts that ran through his mind were getting back at the Crystal Empire, for the years of pain he had suffered, and then squish the Changeling Queen for what she had done.

Sombra watched as his younger self fulfilled his terrible destiny, as he eventually returned to the Crystal Empire with the sole intent of stealing the Crystal Heart, which would cause the barrier to fall and the frozen nature to come rushing in, but he had plans to prevent such a thing from happening. Princess Amore, the ruler of the Crystal Empire, knew that this was coming and confronted him, revealing that she had known the truth about him, the truth behind his torment when the Crystal Faire happened, and her belief that he could still choose his own destiny, one that wasn't down the dark road that his younger self was so keen to travel down, though Sombra could only watch what happened with a sad look in his eyes, as he had the feeling that he knew what was coming. Instead of turning to Princess Amore, and trying to cure himself of the pain he felt when the faire happened, his younger self channeled his own hate and rage into a powerful spell that turned Princess Amore into a black statue that appeared to be made out of crystals, one that he destroyed to prevent her from coming back to stop him, which started to usher in the birth of the dark being he had become. The first thing he did, after seizing control of the empire and enslaving the ponies that had annoyed and angered him, was start the construction of his mines, intending to release the rest of his kind, while also forging what would later become his signature armor, the same one that Rey was wearing.

What followed that was his younger self's bloody and terrible war with the Changeling Hive, where he used his great and terrible powers to carve his way through their ranks as he sought out their queen, and eventually he managed to lure Queen Crudelis into a one on one battle that he dominated rather easily. As it turned out, however, Crudelis, despite hating ponies as much as Sombra hated her, had turned to Canterlot for aid and, with the help of Radiant Hope, had convinced both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to come and take back the Crystal Empire while he was distracted. Based on what happened next Sombra discovered that the plan failed, because even in his weakened state, and defeat being imminent, his younger self threw the Crystal Heart into the chamber that he had prepared to hide it from everyone else and, with the last of his power, cast a curse on the entire empire before he was banished into the frozen north itself, causing the empire to disappear in the process. Even with the brief interaction with the princesses Sombra could tell that they were strong, which made sense considering that they moved the sun and moon every day, and knew that banishment had been the best thing they could do, even if they were horrified at the fact that his younger self banished both the empire and it's ponies for an undetermined amount of time.

As it turned out a thousand years had passed before the next substantial memory happened, where he found that his old self had been transformed into a pure shadowy creature that was still cursed to say only a few words, showing that he was in the middle of regaining his power and abilities, but that didn't stop him from trying to take the empire, which had appeared around the time he was released, from those that had claimed it... only for a group of mares, a baby dragon, and the new Crystal Princess to find the Crystal Heart and destroy him, reducing him to a mere shadow... a soul.

Even as Rey started to stop the memories, however, Sombra could tell what happened to him as he caught the last bits of what they remembered, as there had been a portal or a mirror of some kind, the feeling of great power if he crossed through it, and a threat thrown at a being that could have killed what remained of him. It all made sense now, everything that he had been wondering about since he first found himself in Karakura Town made perfect sense when he considered what he had seen, and yet, at the same time, his memories proved what the key to defeating Rey was. As he came to that conclusion, and started to prepare himself for what he was going to do, he could feel the shadows trying to take hold of his mind, just like Rey wanted to them to do so he could take control of his body, and he could feel the mist started to erupt from his eyes, but despite all that he focused on the one thing that Rey would never see coming, not when he gave up on it so long ago. With his determination set, and his mind focused, Sombra pushed the shadows back and pulled himself into a standing position, fighting the power of Rey's darkness back every step of the way, before he finally stood up and faced his opponent, who was shocked that he was still able to stand, especially after everything that he had shown him and what he had done to his body before that.

"Im... Impossible! You can still stand, after seeing and witnessing all of that?" Rey asked, as he couldn't believe that his opponent had taken on one of his strongest spells, even if it was to save his friends, and had withstood the sheer torrent of his memories without being swallowed by them, which he had been hoping for, "Just what are you?"

"I'm the Yang, the Light, to your Yin, your Darkness." Sombra replied, though at the same time he focused on the all joy, love, hope, and other positive emotions he had come to know and understand during his time in the World of the Living, especially the ones that he had gained during his time with Yoruichi, to which he felt the mist that was emitting from his right eye change to a brilliant blue color as Shokyo's blade glowed, "I'm the part of you that you cast aside all those years ago, sealed away and forgotten about, and when we came here you were knocked out of our body and I was given the chance to shine again. I represent the light, the joy, the happiness, and the hope that you once believed in, the polar opposites to everything that you feel and know... and now that I know everything once more, thanks to you, it's time that I stopped stalling and revealed the final technique that Shokyo taught me; Kotsuho Ryoku."

Rey watched as the crystalline pieces of Sombra's broadsword separated themselves from the blade, transforming it back into it's katana form while keeping him in his Bankai, before the crystalline fragments joined together into a single mass that resembled an artifact that he had tried to keep hidden before his defeat at the hooves of those mares. It only took a few seconds for the Crystal Heart, a representation of the actual artifact, to form where all the crystals were located, but once it was ready Sombra turned around and threw it towards the center of the Crystal Empire, where two equally sized pillars, one coming from the roof and one from the floor, appeared and caught it in the middle of the area between them, allowing it to float there without anything touching it. Not even a moment later the Crystal Ponies, having seen him sent the Crystal Heart back to it's pedestal, grinned as they adapted the same transparent form that he used when he was in his Bankai state and the same form that Shokyo took when she manifested herself, before bowing their heads towards the artifact, allowing the streets to suddenly start glowing with the same brilliant blue color that he was used to seeing, all while Rey was commanding them to stop and cease what they were doing... only for Sombra to flash forward, grab onto Rey's face with his empty hand, and then flashed them up to an area that was above the peak of the palace, where he threw his foe forward and faced him.

As Rey stopped fumbling around and faced him, however, the power that had been gathering all over the Crystal Empire surged back into the heart, which released a wave of energy that reformed the barrier that the duo was now floating outside of, before firing a beam of pure energy into the air that literally drove the shadows away and revealed a blue sky that had been blocked out by the darkness... and, while all that happened, Sombra held his blade to the side and the power of hope, of the Crystal Empire, gathered into his blade as a mass of brilliant blue energy formed around him.

"NO! I won't allow this to happen!" Rey shouted, his composure cracking, as he knew that this was how he had been defeated back when they were still a stallion, before the darkness wrapped around him and his blade was surrounded by a seething mass of dark energy, "This right here is my strongest attack, Rebanada del Olvido, or Oblivion Slice if you really want to know, and it has the power to decimate the entire empire... but I'll settle for killing you first!"

"It's appropriate that we end this with our strongest techniques," Sombra replied, though at the same time he noticed that both his and Rey's attacks had taken on the form of energy waves, no doubt making Ichigo made since he seemed to be sour about him 'copying' his Getsuga Tensho, but right now he was fine with what he had, "Kiboukado."

The instant he uttered the name, meaning Hope's Edge, both Sombra and Rey swung their arms and their crescent wave attacks rippled through the air, causing the entire area to shudder as the two of them collided with each other, but Sombra took the opportunity that was presented to him and flashed through the air as he used the two attacks as cover... though as the two attacks exploded, however, Rey barely had a chance to move as Sombra appeared behind him and drove his blade right into the area that his opponent's heart would be in, causing him to cough up blood for a moment.

"Sorry Rey, but the light wins this time around." Sombra commented, though in the end, while he was happy to win the battle, he only knew that this was the beginning, as he still needed to get Rey used to living in his inner world and see if he could get along with Shokyo, provided he didn't try to kill her every time he saw her.

"I guess... it does..." Rey said, though his tone revealed that he was tired of losing, to not just those that he had fought in the part, but, at the same time, he sighed as he glowed for a moment, to which he reverted back to his stallion form as Sombra descended towards the ground, allowing the mist to disappear from his eyes, "I... I guess I'll just build a house and stay out here... maybe make my own palace..."

As Sombra set him down, and found that Rey's wound healed once the blade was no longer in his chest, he guessed that one decisive strike was all that really mattered in a situation like this, indicating that he had truly won, though he did tell Rey that he'd be back, to truly understand who they used to be and see if he could improve Rey's own attitude towards those he despised in the past. At the same time, however, he felt his own power rising, indicating that Rey officially recognized him as the true Sombra, for now anyway since he was likely thinking of what he could do to turn the situation around and assume control, and that his true power was now accessible. He thought back to what Ikkaku said, about where he rested on the power scale of the ten Vasto Lorde that called Hueco Mundo home, and he realized that, with him being from a completely different world, there were actually eleven Vasto Lorde now, but for now he decided to keep that information to himself, until he had time to learn what Rey had to tell him about his old life.

One thing was for certain, and that was that Aizen wouldn't be expecting someone of his level to be fighting against him, and he was eager to see what sort of powers and abilities the remaining members of the Espada had... and he was certain that at least one of them would be terrified of him once they crossed paths in the near future.





Ulquiorra walked down the hallway that he was in, one of the many that were in the palace of Los Noches, and made his way toward the infirmary, where Yammy was scheduled to finish his surgery and his arm was supposed to be reattached completely, and there was a chance that Grimmjow was there as well. Lord Aizen had been true to his word, he had come by shortly after he had dropped the Sexta Espada off at the infirmary and stripped him of his rank and power, but despite that Grimmjow was still a powerful Arrancar, as he hadn't lost much of his power in the process. At the same time he found that his thoughts were focused on the powerful Arrancar that was likely to become the Dios Hueco, the Hollow above Hollows, and that he remembered Grimmjow's words, that he and the other Espada might not be able to stop him if he ascended to his full power. It was possible that Sombra could dismantle the entirety of Lord Aizen's army all by himself, if he was already able to stand against the Sexta Espada, but right now he didn't have the power to do anything to him and those above him, meaning that they still had a chance to defeat him... though as he walked down the hallway, and neared the infirmary, he felt the air of Hueco Mundo shudder for a few seconds before disappearing, something that he and the others must have felt.

He glanced at the door in front of him and opened it, finding Yammy, with his arm reattached, smashing the poor nurse Arrancar into the wall, killing her instantly despite the fact that she had made sure that he could resume his duties as the Diez Espada, the Tenth and lowest member of the group.

"Yammy, did you feel that disturbance just now?" Ulquiorra asked, though at the same time he knew that this wasn't a matter of his Pesquisa being great or not, as that felt like the power that he had told Lord Aizen about, back when he first encountered Sombra.

"I must have missed it... I was too busy testing my arm." Yammy replied, though as he said that he frowned, as he was annoyed with something that was attached to the restored limb, before he sighed and pulled on his jacket, covering the tattoo of the number ten that was on his left shoulder.

"I, however, felt it." another voice said, to which Ulquiorra turned his head and found Grimmjow leaning against the wall, though at the same time he had the same look in his eyes that he had seen when the unfortunate Arrancar had been brought back to Hueco Mundo, before Grimmjow glanced up at him, "The shudder in the air... Sombra's power has risen to the level of the Dios Hueco, so it's only a matter of time until Hueco Mundo's true ruler comes for his throne."

Ulquiorra nodded his head for a second, finding it odd to be agreeing with Grimmjow, but he had the feeling that Lord Aizen had a plan in mind to defeat Sombra, as he hadn't flinched when he revealed what he might become, and it was only a matter of time until they found out whatever plan he was going to put in motion.