Bleach: Heart of a Hero

by Blackdrag-rose

Hueco Mundo: Nnoitra's Punishment

Renji and Uryu were still sort of shocked by what they had seen over the last few minutes, as they had no idea that the power of Sombra's Resurreccion was so powerful that it made the likes of Szayelaporro shut up about his powers and submit to the will of the more powerful Arrancar. Sombra, on his own, was powerful, when his used his Bankai he was even stronger than ever, and the power that his Resurreccion used was so terrifyingly powerful that they were sure that the rest of the Espada had felt him release it, but at the same time they were also terrified of the fact that they could have been forced to fight that power. Sombra's powers, from what little they had seen so far, were incredibly powerful and he also had access to a realm called the 'Shadowlands', which had to be a realm of terror or something, judging by the terrified look on Szayelaporro's face when he was brought out of the mirror. Renji knew he was right, that Soul Society wouldn't even stand a chance of winning a war if they were forced to go against Sombra, and right now he counted themselves lucky that he was on their side, because he didn't want to imagine what a trip to the Shadowlands looked like and he didn't want to even ask the Espada what he had seen... he actually felt bad for the guy, even though he had got what was coming to him for even thinking of battling Sombra in the first place.

A few moments later, after Sombra finished relaying his first order to the Espada, Szayelaporro nodded his head and headed off to dig through the rubble, though at the same time Sombra stretched his arms for a moment, as it had been a long time since he used his full power and he was happy to see that everything was as it should be.

"You're sparing him?" Mayuri inquired, because as far as he was concerned the Espada belonged to Aizen and Sombra, despite not wishing to follow the Captain-Commander's orders, had just spared the life of one of their enemies, when he knew that the Arrancar could have easily finished him off, "He's one of Aizen's Espada, one of the enemies that you said you were going to decimate when you were talking to the Captain-Commander earlier."

"That was before I learned of the existence of the Dios Hueco," Sombra replied, as it had been the information regarding the true ruler of Hueco Mundo that had caused such a change to his original plan, even though they were still following what he had in mind to the letter, just with some minor changes, and that was when he noticed the odd look Mayuri was giving him, "it means Hollow God. Allow me to explain the situation: all Hollows, and the Arrancar that have been created so far, have the innate knowledge of the classifications that they can become; ordinary Hollows, Gillians, Adjuchas, and potentially even Vasto Lorde, depending on what fate has in store for them. In addition to all of this is a fifth classification, the Dios Hueco, where one Hollow every one thousand years is lucky enough to evolve through all the stages a Hollow can become, eventually evolving into a creature that is so powerful that it takes control over the entirety of Hueco Mundo and rules the inhabitants of this world. As it turns out a Dios Hueco has been born... and it's me."

"That still doesn't explain why you let an enemy live." Mayuri said, though at the same time the existence of another class a Hollow could become seemed likely, since he did read about a story so long ago that many considered it to be a mere story that wasn't based on reality, even though the Captain-Commander claimed that it was all true.

"The Dios Hueco has the power to command both Hollows and Arrancar," Sombra stated, to which he recalled how he managed to convert Nel and her brothers to his cause, including Runuganga and apparently three of the Privaron Espada, minus Dordoni, and now even one of Aizen's Espada, "and, as it turns out, many can seek out the Dios Hueco and pledge themselves to their new ruler. As you no doubt noticed, from my earlier fight, Szayelaporro didn't care what I was while we were fighting, but when I showed him my true power he changed his tone and swore to serve me... just like some of the other Arrancar that I have encountered so far. Think of it this way, Captain Kurotsuchi, I changed Szayelaporro, Cirucci, and a few more Arrancar into allies that now want to tear Aizen down."

"I see... so you're taking over Hueco Mundo then." Mayuri commented, though he had to admit that he was interested in how this war was going to play out now, especially since there was no telling what Sombra would do once he had full control over this world, before he looked around the ruined building that they were in, "Well, since it appears that the Espada you were fighting is now an ally, I guess that means I won't have the pleasure of killing him and taking him back to the lab for my experiments... I wonder if he's got an area where he keeps the corpses of those he's finished with, or just a storage area for them in general. Hueco Mundo is such a treasure trove, and I'd hate to leave without getting something to make the visit worthwhile."

"If you're talking about taking the bodies of those that have died, than forget about it." Sombra said, as he had heard what Mayuri did to the Quincy from Uryu, back when they returned to the World of the Living after 'rescuing' Rukia from her 'execution', and heard a story or two from both Urahara and Yoruichi, though at the same time the Captain turned and looked at him, "As of right now anything and everything that Szayelaporro has in his possession, weapons, bodies, and whatever inventions he's created, belong to me and the new rule that I'll be putting in place, once I claim control over Hueco Mundo and those the live here. If you want to take something back to Soul Society, then you'll have to talk to both myself and Szayelaporro and see what we think about what you want."

"Now wait just a min..." Mayuri started to say, though that was before he found himself on the floor, as his body was now laying on the floor and the shadows had wrapped around his arms and head, forming what he knew to be an executioner's stand, minus the offending blade, and his Zanpakuto was floating in the air near Sombra.

Sombra seemed ready to say something, though before he could open his mouth Nemu flashed into the air behind him with the intent to strike him for attacking her Captain, but as it so happened Sombra was faster with his reflexes, as the shadows erupted from the ground and wrapped around her arms, legs, and most of her chest, binding her to the wall fragment that was nearby and prevented her from moving.

"Let me make something clear, this isn't a debate." Sombra stated, as he was growing a little tired of the Shinigami thinking that they could walk over him and do whatever they wanted, or rather those that were of that mindset like Mayuri was, before he stared into the Captain's eyes, "I may not rule Hueco Mundo yet, but it's only a matter of time until my true power as the Dios Hueco awakens, and you, Captain Mayuri, are currently a guest in what is becoming my world. As such you will obey the rules that I set forth, just like the Arrancar will once I tear them away from Aizen, and you will ask both Szayelaporro and myself about items that you wish to take back to Soul Society... but, if that proves too much for someone like you to handle, I can always arrange for you to take a trip through the Shadowlands. Oh, and if you so much as attack one of my allies while you're here... well, I think you know what would be coming next."

Mayuri stared at the Arrancar that was in front of him, surprised by the sudden tone shift of the conversation, but at the same time he knew that Sombra wasn't bluffing, because when he mentioned a trip to the 'Shadowlands' the mirror that Szayelaporro had been pulled from had formed behind him again, it's dark surface staring at him with a hunger to transport more people that have offended it's master to the realm that it connected to. Based on what little he actually knew about the realm Sombra talked about, since this was the first he had heard of it, he knew that it was safe to assume that the Shadowlands were a realm of pure terror, where one was forced to face their fears and their worst nightmares, including terrifying monsters and who knew what else. Part of him, the scientist that catalogued everything and studied whatever he could get his hands on, actually wanted to know what was on the other side of the mirror for himself and observe the monsters in their natural habitat, but at the same time the last remaining fragments of his sanity were what won the battle, as they voiced the opinion that he might end up dead and he'd never be able to study anything new if something ended up killing him on the other side of the mirror.

This was one of those rare times where he actually listened to the fragments of sanity that he had left, even though most Shinigami thought he was insane, and decided not to push his luck, to which he nodded his head and Sombra waved a hand, to which he and Nemu were freed from the shadows that had been keeping them locked in a single position... and, as a bonus, his Zanpakuto floated back over to him, where he stashed it back where he normally kept it, since he knew that attacking Sombra was almost impossible at this point.

"It seems another has learned their place in the pecking order." a voice said, to which Szayelaporro, now dressed in a much cleaner version of his attire, the same type that Uryu had blown apart earlier, stepped out into the open and approached the group, "Lord Sombra, I am ready to depart whenever you are ready."

"Good, then here's the plan." Sombra stated, to which he looked out at the remainder of Las Noches and knew that it was only a matter of time until Aizen made his move, something that he aimed to stop, "Our first order of business is to find and recover all of our allies, though I know that Rukia is in Aaroniero's palace, Chad and Gantenbainne seem to be staying close to the walls of Las Noches, and it appears that Ichigo and Nel have been reunited with Orihime and Sora, and that includes the unlikely addition of Grimmjow. Szayelaporro, do you know where Aizen is stationed?"

"Yes, in the fifth tower of Las Noches," Szayelaporro replied, as that was where the main throne that Aizen sat in was located, and where all of the passages in Las Noches eventually lead to, if someone like Gin wasn't messing with the controls all the time, and it was where Aizen had to be located at that very moment.

"Then that is where we shall meet up." Sombra said, though that was when the group watched as he turned in a different direction and focused on who was currently fighting, as he was curious as to what Grimmjow was doing near Ichigo and the others, before he vanished as quickly as he had arrived, taking the scythe and other shadowy objects with him, leaving the others to stare at where he had been standing.

"You know, Aaroniero told us about that ability, but it's still strange to see it in use." Szayelaporro stated, as the sudden appearance of Sombra had been what threw off his earlier attacks and strategy, before the Arrancar overpowered him completely and made him feel useless.

"You're telling me," Renji said, because despite the fact that Sombra had told them to use that technique when they were in trouble it was proving to be the quickest mode of transportation for him since they were all spread out, though he did have to wonder what he was investigating this time.

Mayuri, on the other hand, sighed in defeat as he realized that the scientist Espada that was standing near the group wouldn't likely want to share any of his research subjects with him, and fighting him was out of the question since Sombra could wipe the floor with him instantly, so he guessed that he was forced to follow Sombra's lead... and while he hoped it might earn him some points with the soon to be ruler of Hueco Mundo, as helping his subjects was a good thing, he knew that his requests were going to be denied, so he just followed Szayelaporro's lead and hoped that things changed.

---

Ichigo, despite having a hole punched into his sternum by Ulquiorra earlier, was feeling better than ever and it was all thanks to the healing powers that Orihime possessed, though at the same time he knew that he couldn't allow his mind to wander from the situation that he was in. When Grimmjow first attacked the World of the Living he had been an enemy, one that wanted to deliver both his head and Sombra's head to Aizen, but now the Sexta Espada was standing near him, like he was a friend or something, and he had no idea what was going through his head. At the same time, however, he was grateful to Grimmjow for bringing Orihime and Sora to him, since it meant he could be healed and brought back to his full power, and that included hurting himself while he fended off Ulquiorra, even banishing him to another dimension for some time to give them enough time to heal from their injuries. He guessed that Grimmjow had to be telling the truth, that he was severing his ties with Aizen and was joining Sombra, who was clearly much more powerful than any Arrancar he had seen so far, and that included the sheer power of his Resurreccion, leaving him and the others to feel a familiar sinister sensation that came when Sombra channeled his true power.

"You know, I feel bad for Szayelaporro," Grimmjow commented, as he had felt the power that Sombra commanded when he was only using his Arrancar Zanpakuto and knew that the Octava Espada, who hadn't really done anything to annoy Sombra, was done for, "He didn't do anything that deserved facing Sombra's true power, and yet he's going to get the beating of his life... I can't help but feel sorry for the poor bastard."

"Yeah... if you say so." Ichigo said, though at the same time he didn't care too much, since this Szayelaporro was still one of their enemies, but he did agree that no one, maybe save Aizen, deserved to fight Sombra when he was using his full power against them, and even then he knew that this wasn't all of the power that his friend could bring to bare in a fight, not when he had two Zanpakuto he could release, before he turned toward Grimmjow, "So, what did you say we were going to do once we were healed?"

"We're going to find Sombra, join his group, and then help him take control of Hueco Mundo." Grimmjow stated, as he knew what was coming, he could feel it in the air every now and then like all the other Hollows and Arrancar could, and he wanted to be on Sombra's side when the moment happened.

"Well, we might have a problem with that," Sora said, as he was looking over the edge of the area that they were in and had spotted Nnoitra, one of the Espada, standing near the base of the pillar they were in and was currently staring up at them, along with another Arrancar standing some distance behind him, "We've got company."

"Damn it, I wish I had another Caja Negacion I could use, because that's Nnoitra Gilga," Grimmjow told the group, as he had been curious as to who Sora had seen and his eyes widened a little when he spotted another superior Espada standing near their position, "He's the Quinto Espada, the one between Ulquiorra and myself. He's also not about to let us leave without a fight..."

"Then let's give him one." Ichigo replied, to which he heaved Zangetsu back onto his back and prepared himself as he stepped up to where Grimmjow was standing, because now that they had Orihime and Sora on their side, and they were no longer near Aizen, they could focus on their retreat at last, "What do you say, Grimmjow?"

Grimmjow glanced at Ichigo for a moment, wondering if he was suggesting what he thought he was suggesting, and when he noticed the smile on the Substitute Shinigami's face his own signature smile returned, to which he nodded his head and together both he and Ichigo jumped down to where Nnoitra was standing, who was wearing his own signature smile as they landed near him.

"What is this, Grimmjow?" Nnoitra inquired, though at the same time he didn't mind what he was seeing right now, as he never did like the Sexta Espada to begin with and occasionally thought about getting rid of him, and held his weapon at the ready, "You siding with the enemy?"

"I'm siding with the side that will win this war, and survive at the same time," Grimmjow replied, though at the same time he grew his Zanpakuto as Ichigo did the same thing, because he knew that the Espada in front of them wasn't going to let them pass, "I'll say this once, Nnoitra, either get out of our way, die, or join the rightful ruler of Hueco Mundo."

"How about I kill the both of you and Aizen's pet?" Nnoitra stated, as he saw Orihime staring down at them with her brother standing near her, but he focused his attention on the enemies that were now standing in front of him, even though he was sure that there was someone else in the area, "Tesra, stand back for a moment... I'll deal with both of these ants on my own."

As the other Arrancar nodded his head, however, Grimmjow glanced at Ichigo, who nodded his head in return, and the two of them separated themselves for a moment, causing Nnoitra, who only had one eye since his left eye was covered by an eye patch, to glance at Grimmjow first before looking at Ichigo, clearly debating which of them he wanted to target first when the battle started.

"Bankai." Ichigo called out, as he was holding Zangetsu towards the Espada that was in front of him, to which the wind kicked up as the dust covered him for a few seconds, though when the transformation was finished, and he was wearing the appropriate attire, he swung his arm and cut the dust apart, indicating that he was ready to battle.

"Grind! Pantera!" Grimmjow said, having moved his own Zanpakuto into the appropriate location that it needed to be in and let himself be covered by dust as well, though a few moments later the cover broke apart as he unleashed the power of his Resurreccion, returning to his more panther like form and growled for a moment.

The moment both of their releases were complete Grimmjow roared, vibrating the air around them for a few seconds, before both he and Ichigo rushed forward and charged at Nnoitra, who used both the bladed edge of his large axe-shaped weapon against one opponent while also letting the back side of the handle to hit the second one. Ichigo, being on the receiving end of the head of the weapon, swung his Zanpakuto and blocked the attack with his might, while at the same time Grimmjow jumped over the back end of Nnoitra's weapon and swung his claws at the Quinto Espada, who let him run his claws against his chest before backing away. It was as Grimmjow thought, Nnoitra's Hierro was just as hard as he remembered it being and cursed himself for not knowing how they were supposed to get through it, but at the same time it was two on one unless Nnoitra's lone Fraccion decided to join the battle, even if it would be against Nnoitra's orders and likely hurt himself in the process. Ichigo, taking advantage of the fact that Nnoitra turned and looked at Grimmjow for a moment, slipped under the head of their opponent's weapon and charged at his exposed chest, where he found that the Espada in question didn't even bother trying to dodge and let the edge of Zangetsu run over his body, not even cutting him before Ichigo jumped backwards as well.

"What the hell is this shit?" Nnoitra asked, to which he didn't even bother to look at the two enemies that he was fighting, because he couldn't believe them at the moment, though at the same time he maneuvered his weapon back into position and readied himself for the next bout, "Are the two of you really this weak? Both of your attacks sucked."

"Coming from the Espada with one of the strongest Hierro's," Grimmjow replied, though at the same time he knew that Nnoitra couldn't take them both out at the same time, not when both he and Ichigo were slightly faster than what their enemy was, but that didn't mean they could take any chances, "but don't worry, we'll find a way to cut through your armor and wound you."

Nnoitra grinned and charged at Ichigo, intending to take out the intruder first before dealing with Grimmjow, before swinging at his target, causing Ichigo to duck as the head of the large weapon came at him, though at the same time Ichigo used another opening to try and cut his opponent, only to find out that he had failed again and jumped backwards to avoid being crushed. While that happened Grimmjow raced forward and kicked at the side of Nnoitra's head, barely moving it a little, and unleashed a few punches and kicks while Ichigo distracted the Espada, before retreating as well, as he didn't want to get carved up by the most bloodthirsty of the Espada. Once the two of them touched down on the floor once more they shifted where they were standing as Nnoitra swung his weapon at them, avoiding it as best they could, before charging at the exposed Espada and, just like last time, found that their attacks did nothing, to which the two of them were forced to pull back and think of a new strategy. Of course that meant that they had to avoid the next few attacks from Nnoitra, who didn't seem to care which of them he killed first, and after a few minutes they were forced backwards once more, where they stood some distance away from Nnoitra and stared at him for any weaknesses that they might be able to use against him.

Grimmjow, on the other hand, knew that Nnoitra's Hierro was tough and hard to cut, but actually fighting it was proving to be much harder than what he thought it would be, as he had no idea how they were supposed to deal with something like this, not without killing themselves in the process.

"Damn, he's just like Kenpachi." Ichigo remarked, remembering back to the days when he and the others were invading Soul Society to save Rukia and he had his battle with the Captain of the Eleventh Division, though at the same time he noticed Grimmjow staring at him, "When I fought Kenpachi the first time I found that I was unable to cut him in the first few minutes of our battle, but when I focused on beating him and steeled my reiatsu I found that I was able to cut through his seemingly iron-like skin. Nnoitra has to be like him; he's got an incredible amount of reiatsu that it allows his already durable Hierro to become seemingly invincible, meaning all we have to do is adapt to his power and see if we can match, or overcome, it."

"You know, you may be a little dense at times, but that's an interesting idea." Grimmjow commented, to which he raised his right hand a little and touched the edge of Ichigo's Zanpakuto, where he nicked two of his fingers and prevented the blood from dropping, before he grinned as he looked at his ally, "Come on, let's show him just what he's up against... and don't forget your mask this time."

Ichigo had to resist the urge to facepalm, as he had completely forgotten that he had needed his mask to even do a little damage to Ulquiorra, and he had only succeeded in putting dust on the Espada's chest while damaging his clothing, before he nodded and moved his hand into position as Grimmjow moved. Nnoitra, on the other hand, raised his eyebrow for a moment as he wondered what they were going to do next, as the two of them were splitting apart once more, but after seeing their last failed attempt he knew that he could beat them as he swung his weapon and beckoned for them to strike. Ichigo, seeing the challenge being thrown his way, focused his mind and pulled his hand back, allowing his Hollow mask to form over his face and let the air around him shudder for a moment, but once that was done he flew through the air and charged at Nnoitra, easily dodging the attack that was coming his way and swung Zangetsu at his opponent's arm, nicking it a little in the process as a drop of blood fell from the tip of his blade. It was exactly what he had been thinking about, that the Espada was just a stronger version of Kenpachi, and before the axe-shaped weapon crushed him be flashed backwards to get out of the way... though where that would have been the end of his mask, and the power boost that it gave him, he found that the mask stayed on his face without any signs of cracking.

He honestly didn't want to thank Ulquiorra for nearly killing him, and giving him more control over the powers of his inner Hollow in the process, but right now he was willing to take what was going on and gathered his reiatsu around Zangetsu's blade for his next attack.

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo called out, to which he swung his arm and let the energy wave fly through the air, his target being Nnoitra, who was just standing there like this was all a game to him, but if that was how he was going to react than he and Grimmjow were going to take the victory for themselves.

"Please, do you really think a puny attack like that can hurt me?" Nnoitra said, as his body was more than willing to take the force of the attack and show his enemies that they couldn't kill him, even if he considered the slight minor cut in his Hierro to be a fluke.

"Yeah, especially when it's combined with this." Grimmjow replied, to which Nnoitra, who had ignored him the entire time he was focused on Ichigo, started to turn back, but thanks to his stupid spoon shaped headpiece he couldn't see what Grimmjow was planning in time, despite the blue streaks that were gathering above his right hand, "Gran Rey Cero!"

Nnoitra barely had time to react as both the Getsuga Tensho and the blue Gran Rey Cero, fired seconds apart from each other, raced towards him and struck him from both sides, causing a massive explosion that dented the desert that they were in and caused both Grimmjow and Ichigo to land near each other as they surveyed their work... and when the dust cleared they found that part of Nnoitra's headpiece had been destroyed, there was steam coming from his back, and there was a light gash on his chest.

"I take it back, that was rather exciting." Nnoitra said, to which he shook his arms for a moment, as there was still some dust on him from the explosion, before he focused on his enemies, "Hopefully you two can keep it up, otherwise I might have to kill your friends to get you excited about this fight."

"Master, are you alright?" Tesra asked, as it was unusual for his master to take such a powerful combination of attacks at the same time, and he knew so because of all the times he had watched the Espada that he served battle the enemies that Lord Aizen wanted him to take care of.

It was in that moment that Grimmjow and Ichigo's eyes widened, as Tesra must have moved while they were busy fighting Nnoitra, because Sora had been brought down here and knocked into one of the stone walls, Orihime was standing with Tesra behind her, preventing her from doing anything, and Nel seemed to be shaking at the moment.

"You bastard," Ichigo stated, as he couldn't believe what he and Grimmjow were seeing, because those three weren't even a part of this battle and their enemy had targeted them anyway, "This was supposed to be a fair fight between the two of us and you... you didn't have to involve Orihime, Sora, and Nel like this."

"This is a fight, of course it ain't fair." Nnoitra replied, though he was happy to see that Tesra had done as he had silently desired and made sure that the viewers of this battle were nearby, so when the time came to spice things up he'd just kill one of them and make both Grimmjow and the invader angry, before he looked at the little Arrancar that was closer to him than she was to the others, "You said her name was 'Nel', right?"

In the following seconds Nel stopped shaking and slowly turned her head until she was looking at Nnoitra, though while she was still scared about what was going on the grin that Nnoitra wore all the time only widened a little, as he was pleased with what he was seeing.

"Yeah, that's your estigma all right." Nnoitra said, pointing to his own face for a moment, in the exact same area that the red line on Nel's face was located, which stopped everyone for a moment and caused him to stare at them in return, as he was curious about something, "I thought it was you when I saw the mask, though it looks like you've taking a liking to living outside Las Noches' walls. Does that broken mask of your's still ache?"

"What the hell are you doing, Nnoitra?" Grimmjow asked, because while he was sure that there was an Espada before him called Nel, as in there being one before he joined the Espada, he was sure that she was killed at some point in time and the body was never found, but at the same time both he and Ichigo looked for an opening that they could use to get at Nnoitra before he did anything foolish.

"Well, since he's the one that brought her this far, I guess I might as well tell you before you die," Nnoitra replied, to which he turned his attention back towards Ichigo and Grimmjow, who were ready for the next round of the fight to begin, even if he wasn't ready yet, "Here's the story, she's Nel... Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, the former Tres Espada."

"It's... a lie..." Nel said, though at the same time Ichigo and Grimmjow could see that the little Arrancar was crying, like she hated being accused of something that she wasn't, and that only seemed to disgust Nnoitra in the process, which also annoyed the duo in the process, "I'm... not an Espada... There's... no way..."

"Now it's my turn to say 'what the hell are you talking about'," Nnoitra commented, to which his smile turned into a frown, as his fun was officially ruined for the moment as he now had to deal with Nel all over again, "Don't tell me that you forgot who you were and how annoying you could be. You deceived all these guys and used them to get into Las Noches, just so you could find your way to me and finish our battle... didn't you?"

"I... didn't deceive... anyone..." Nel replied, and Ichigo knew that it was the truth, as the first thing she and her brothers did was swear themselves to serve Sombra, when they met them anyway, "I'm... I'm not after anything! I was... just having fun with Itsygo... and following Sombra's orders to stay near him."

"What a load of crap!" Nnoitra said, to which he raised his arm and his weapon followed suit, as he intended to clear up this headache before anything else happened, while at the same time noticing that both Ichigo and Grimmjow were readying themselves, "I never liked you to begin with, Nelliel, and now you're as good as dead!"

As Nnoitra started to swing his weapon down on Nel, intending to execute her without her even being able to defend herself, Ichigo flashed into the area between them and swung Zangetsu, cutting another light gash into Nnoitra's chest and stunned him, allowing Grimmjow to leap over his shoulder and kick Nnoitra in the face, sending him backwards into the sand for a few moments.

"First off, it's doesn't matter if she's an Espada or just a normal Arrancar, because she's our friend." Ichigo stated, as he couldn't believe that their fight had been interrupted because Nnoitra wanted to attack Nel while she was defenseless, and he could tell that Grimmjow was annoyed as well, "And secondly, even if she was a former Espada, like you claim she is, she's under Sombra's protection, so if you hurt her you'll have to contend with the Dios Hueco."

"Well, it seems like she has amnesia," Nnoitra stated, as nothing he had said so far seemed to have any effect on the little Arrancar, save making her cry like the annoying baby that she was, before he looked at his opponents, "but it's to be expected, since I did a really good job of cracking her head open the last time I saw her."

"So that's why there's a crack in her mask and some of the teeth are missing." Grimmjow commented, as he had noticed something odd about the mask that Nel wore, namely the items he had mentioned, but now it all made sense why it was like that, and it was because Nnoitra hated Nelliel and hurt her to the point where she became the Nel that they were seeing right now.

"Exactly." Nnoitra said, though he was a little surprised that Grimmjow even cared enough about someone he had only just met, so much so that he had spotted the crack and missing teeth, but at the same time it didn't matter, "In the end, however, it hardly matters how much I tell you, because even with the power you two are putting out you'll never be able to kill me, meaning that I'm going to take my time letting Nelliel watch as both Tesra and I beat all of you into the ground and torture you until your bodies are paste! Then, after I've executed all of you in front of her, I'm going to end her life as well... and then I'm going to hunt down and slaughter the remaining members of your group and any other Espada that might have defected as well."

The moment that the thought of watching all her friends die crossed her mind, especially after having seen what Ulquiorra did to Ichigo earlier, broke something inside Nel and she screamed for a moment, before her screams were silenced by a explosion that rocked the area around her and knocked everyone away from her, all while causing a look of shock and fear to cross Nnoitra's face as a familiar reiatsu returned. As pink smoke filled the area, and Ichigo briefly wondered why it was pink, the silhouette of a person appeared for a moment and everyone saw that it belonged to a woman that was about the same size as Ichigo, in terms of height anyway, and they waited for the smoke to clear before being able to see anything. When the smoke and dust cleared they were able to see Nel again, but instead of there being a child, like there had been moments ago, in her placed stood a full-grown curvaceous and well-endowed adult with long waving greenish-blue hair, just like her other form had. The gown she had been wearing earlier was now torn into two parts, a skirt and a top, with a single strip connecting the two parts, while at the same time her mask was less cartoonish than it had been earlier, and now it sported a pair of horns that really made it look like the fragments of a Hollow's mask... and, to complete the look, Nel's Zanpakuto had formed in her right hand as well, indicating that she was now back at her full power, for however long it lasted.

"Hello, Nnoitra." Nel said, her voice sounding more mature than it had been in her child form, confirming that she had returned to her former form at long last, while at the same time she took a few steps forward and faced the Espada that they were facing.

"Nelliel." Nnoitra growled, as this wasn't what he was expecting, the return of the one Arrancar that he hated in all of Hueco Mundo, and he gripped the handle of his weapon at the same time, because he was going to enjoy carving her open and ending their battle at long last.

"So this is what you really look like." Grimmjow commented, though he had to say that he was impressed, as he never had a chance to meet her before the disappearance of her and her Fraccion, but now he was glad that they were on the same side, as he assumed that the threat of her friends dying had been what brought about the transformation.

"Yes, and it was all thanks to Ichigo protecting me while I was in my child form, as that allowed me to eventually return to my true form." Nel replied, showing one more change in how she talked, because when she was a child she referred to Ichigo as 'Itsygo' and in her adult form she called him by what his name actually was, "Proper thanks will have to wait, as Nnoitra isn't about to let me walk out of here without attempting to kill me... so now it is my turn to fight him."

Both Ichigo and Grimmjow opened their mouths to say something, especially since she had only returned to her former body and too much strain might make her revert back at the wrong time, though that was when the wind kicked up and moved the back of her top a little, revealing the large number three that was there, to which they decided to say nothing and let her make her move. Nel charged forward and crossed the gap between her and Nnoitra, who growled and immediately raised his axe-shaped weapon into the air, like he was going to execute her or something, but Nel was faster than him and quickly drew her Zanpakuto, cutting a horizontal gash into his chest and causing him to look down in surprise as some of his blood went flying. It confirmed what Ichigo and Grimmjow had been attempting, sharpening their reiatsu so that their attacks could actually cut through Nnoitra's Hierro, and their attention was drawn back to the battle, as before Nnoitra's weapon could hit Nel she caught it with the blade of her Zanpakuto and knocked it out of it's path towards her. That action allowed her to remain in the air for a little while longer, where she performed a roll as she faced the Espada while she was upside down, before she swung her foot and kicked him backwards, forcing him through the air for a few moments... but when he landed on the ground Nnoitra charged at her once more and started swinging his weapon at her, where she ducked and weaved as she avoided the attacks, sometimes even using her Zanpakuto to block them before they even had a chance of hitting her.

It went like that for a few moments, where Nnoitra tired and failed to hit her before he cleaved a boulder in half, where Nel moved into the air and tried to pin him to the ground, only for him to dodge as the boulder shattered, but she ended up using the dust cover to sheathe her Zanpakuto and punch Nnoitra when he wasn't expecting it, sending him flying into another boulder in the process. Nel stood there for a few seconds, staring at Nnoitra as he picked himself up off the ground, though as that happened the reiatsu around the Espada gathered as he stood straight up and held his arms out, where he stuck his tongue out and launched a yellow Cero at Nel. Not a second later Nel raised her empty right hand and stopped the Cero the moment it struck her hand, without detonating, and opened her mouth, where Ichigo recalled what happened against Dordoni earlier, to which the group watched as she sucked the Cero into her mouth. She held her back for a moment, like she had done earlier, before she snapped back to attention and fired a Cero back at Nnoitra in return, only this time it was pink colored and Grimmjow could tell from just a glance that it was more powerful than what had been fired at her a few moments ago... where Nnoitra stood there, entirely freaked out, as the Cero collided with his chest and exploded, covering him in smoke as he took the full force of the attack.

In the next few seconds Tesra let go of Orihime and charged at where his master had been standing, showing that he had more concern for Nnoitra than keeping their enemies contained, letting Nel turn around and walk back to where Ichigo and Grimmjow were standing... though that was before the serious look faded from her face as a smile replaced it, and she charged at Ichigo and wrapped her arms around him, showing that she held the same fascination for him that she had while she was in her child form.

"I'm so happy that you're okay, Ichigo!" Nel said, showing her concern for him after Nnoitra threatened to torment him and the others before killing them, while at the same time Orihime blushed for a moment as Grimmjow kept his attention on where the Espada they were fighting had been standing.

"I'm fine, Nel... Nnoitra didn't have a chance to hurt either of us." Ichigo replied, as he was shocked by what was happening at the moment and didn't know what to do, while still finding that his mask was still on, something that he removed so he could wait and see if he needed it again.

"Still, you might want to have Orihime check the crack in your mask," Grimmjow commented, causing the pair to stop what they were doing and look over at him once more, as his claws were at the ready as he stared at the smoke, because he knew that it was a matter of time until Nnoitra came back, "It's only a matter of time until Nnoitra emerges from the smoke and attacks us again, and I'd rather not have you revert back to your child form at the wrong time, despite the fact that Ichigo and I know what we need to do now."

"Right." Nel said, to which she let go of Ichigo and approached Orihime, who nodded her head and two of her Flowers formed the healing barrier around her mask, though that was when the group watched as Tesra went flying through the air and collided with one of the boulders that were near their position.

"Cero Doble... I forgot that it was your special talent." Nnoitra spoke up, where the group found that the right side of his jacket, the sleeve area, had been destroyed by the explosion, his right arm had burn marks on it, and a small portion of the right side of his spoon headpiece had been ripped off as well, "You absorb a Cero that is being fired at you and make it even stronger by adding your own Cero on top of it, and if I had been any weaker than I currently am that could have seriously injured me. What's wrong, Nelliel? I thought you were going to end this quickly, just like all the other times we fought before I cracked your head open!"

"I see... that is unfortunate." a voice said, to which Ichigo and Grimmjow's eyes widened as the air in front of them rippled as Sombra flashed into the area between them and Nnoitra, though the real reason behind their stares wasn't because of his sudden arrival, but because of the form he was wearing and the power he was generating, "So, which rank do you have?"

"I am Nnoitra Gilga, the Quinto Espada," Nnoitra replied, though at the same time a smile appeared on his face, as he knew that Sombra was the strongest invader of them all and, by coming here, he'd be able to have one of the greatest fights of all time, and he readied his weapon accordingly.

"You're Nnoitra?" Sombra inquired, as he remembered what Gantenbainne had told him when he went and healed both him and Chad of their injuries earlier, that Chad had been attacked and cut down by the Quinto Espada, and when the Espada nodded his head he sighed as he extended his hand and let his scythe float in the air near him, "Good. I told Chad that I would make the Espada that attacked him pay for what happened to him... and that Espada was you."

Grimmjow watched as Sombra, in his Resurreccion, charged at Nnoitra and dodged the incoming attack that was coming his way, though it only looked like Nnoitra's attack was much slower than what Sombra's speed was at and that only served to annoy the Quinto Espada. Sombra remained of the defensive for a few moments, or that was what it seemed like he was doing, and simply avoided the attacks that his new foe were sending his way, but even when Nnoitra was able to get his weapon close to him he simply phased into his Shadow Form and let the head of the weapon pass through him, shocking his opponent in the process. The battle seemed to be annoying Nnoitra at the same time, since he couldn't even hit Sombra at all, but at the same time Grimmjow knew that this was a one sided battle and that Sombra was merely biding his time, because with the power he possessed he knew that the powerful Arrancar could swing his sinister looking scythe once and the battle would be over in an instant. There were even several instances were Sombra flashed through the air and appeared somewhere within the personal space of the Espada that he was fighting, causing Nnoitra to swing at him in response, but in the end the result was the same, he missing his target as Sombra landed in a different location and the battle continued in that manner.

Not even a few minutes later Nnoitra and Sombra landed near each other and stared at each other, as Sombra was purely reacting to the attacks that were coming his way and was waiting for the Espada to make a move against him before doing something... though that was before Nnoitra grinned as a thought occurred to him.

"Tesra, crush them all!" Nnoitra called out, where the group that was watching the battle observed as the named Arrancar pulled himself out of the rubble he had been thrown into and dusted himself off, before facing his master and bowed his head for a moment.

"As you wish, Master." Tesra replied, to which he immediately drew his Zanpakuto, which appeared to be a rapier that had a chakram embedded just above the hilt and a guard that was made out of a scaled ribbing, before his reiatsu flared for a moment, "Crush, Verruga."

The wind kicked up for a moment and showed the Arrancar for a moment, causing both Ichigo and Grimmjow to raise their weapons as they waited for him to emerge in his Resurreccion, though not a few moments later the wind and dust died down and they were allowed to see their foe once more. When they could see him again they found that Tesra had become a large, warthog-like creature, as his mask had grown to cover his entire face and also had a pair of tusks grow out of it as well, while his hair had grown into a mane. On his chest rested six exclamation point-like markings, three per pec, and his mask had a large scar covering his right eye, where he wore an eye patch when he was in his more Human form, though the overall tone of his large body was that he was strong and that his attacks were likely powerful, meaning that the two of them would have to avoid his attacks when the fight actually started. At the same time, however, Sombra was unimpressed as he avoided the sneak attack that Nnoitra sent his way, as the reiatsu that was coming from Tesra wasn't that great and both Ichigo and Grimmjow could beat him in moments... even though there was someone approaching the area that they were in, another Shinigami that had followed Mayuri into Hueco Mundo.

"You know, it's interesting that you think that his Resurreccion means anything," Sombra commented, causing Nnoitra to look at him while Tesra glared at where he was standing, indicating that they were both annoyed with what he had said, even though he honestly didn't care, "Ain't that right, Zaraki?"

Not even a second later Zaraki, with Yachiru riding on his shoulder, appeared near Tesra and grinned as he felt the sheer power that was coming from Sombra, though at the same time Tesra noticed him standing there and demanded to know who he was, to which he got no answer. Nnoitra, on the other hand, dropped down to the ground and placed a finger against the sand, where Sombra noticed that he was trying to figure out just how powerful the newcomer was in terms of the enemies he was fighting, and shock appeared on his face as he called out a warning. That came seconds too late, as the moment Tesra raised his fist towards Zaraki, with the intent to hurt him, Zaraki swung his Zanpakuto and cut a perfect vertical gash into the Arrancar's body, going through the mask and through his chest, causing Tesra to fall to the ground and revert back to his more Human form with a pool of blood around him. In that exact moment Ichigo and Grimmjow realized that Sombra had been right, Tesra's Resurreccion meant nothing thanks to the fact that a new ally had arrived, though Ichigo noticed that Zaraki seemed bored with his current opponent and faced the Espada that they were all facing, who actually seemed worried by this turn of events.

"Kenpachi, what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked, though right now he wasn't sure that they even needed the Captain's help, not with Sombra standing in front of Nnoitra, but even as he said that Zaraki glanced at him for a moment before staring at their foe again.

"Urahara opened the way for him, Captain Mayuri and his Lieutenant, and two other Captains." Sombra replied, as he had been searching for any additional reiatsu that might have come to Hueco Mundo recently and it appeared that four Captains had come to assist them in whatever manner they could, "They're here to kill Aizen's Espada and weaken his overall army, that way when the battle actually begins he'll have a limited number of soldiers to send after the Captains that remained behind. Of course there's always something unexpected around every corner, as none of them could have known that I'd be taking control of Hueco Mundo, as my right as the Dios Hueco, and free those that want to live from Aizen's control, just like I did with Szayelaporro and a few of the other Arrancar that we've encountered so far."

"Which reminds me," Grimmjow said, to which he moved close to where Sombra was standing and knelt before the powerful Arrancar, as it was high time that he announced his intentions to the person that he wanted to meet since his arrival and stop being one of Aizen's pawns, "Lord Sombra, I, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, forsake the Usurper known as Aizen Sosuke and pledge to serve you for as long as you rule Hueco Mundo."

"Likewise I, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck," Nel echoed, to which she stepped out of Orihime's healing barrier, just as it was withdrawn, with her mask restored to it's former glory, as the crack was gone and the four missing teeth had come back as well, though she chose to keep the scar from the event as a reminder, and she knelt beside Grimmjow, "forsake the Usurper known as Aizen Sosuke and pledge to serve you, the true ruler of Hueco Mundo, for as long as you live."

"I accept your pledges and welcome you to my side of this war," Sombra stated, where he noticed that Grimmjow was wearing a pleased smile on his face, indicating that he had gotten what he wanted and was ready to do whatever needed to be done, while at the same time Nel also seemed happy, like she knew that he was the best ruler that Hueco Mundo could have asked for at this point in time, before he faced Nnoitra, "Zaraki, before you and the others, or just you depending on what you all agree to, battle Nnoitra there's something I wish to show him."

Zaraki said nothing as Sombra flashed through the air, at speeds that were faster than what he remembered the Arrancar possessing during their last battle, and Nnoitra swung at him the moment he should have materialized in front of him, but that was when Sombra revealed that he was using his Shadow Form and his body solidified after the head of the axe-shaped weapon went by him. In the following seconds Sombra kicked Nnoitra with his right hoof and sent him flying up into the air, just from the sheer power of his reiatsu alone, and the Espada stared at the ceiling of Las Noches in surprise for a moment, unsure of what had just happened. That was then followed by Sombra appearing above him and swung at his chest with his right arm, where the fist made contact with his target and Nnoitra was sure that one of his ribs might have cracked under the pressure, though that was before he went flying through the air and collided with the floor, only to cough up some blood as he emerged from his crater. Before he could get too far, and find out where his opponent had gone off to this time, Sombra appeared in front of him and raised his right hand towards his face, only that was when Nnoitra found his right pointer finger staring him in the face with a small black Cero with a green outline starting to form just in front of Sombra's finger.

"Let me make one thing clear, Nnoitra, you cannot beat me." Sombra said, though at the same time he wasn't even considering finishing off this opponent himself, as he was going to leave that to someone else, "This Cero is pointed directly at your head, your forehead to be exact, and a single shot will bring about the end of you, though even if you decided to swing your weapon at me I'd just fade into my Shadow Form and fire the attack anyway. Your only hope of survival is to forsake Aizen and join us... and I'll leave the decision up to you, though you might want to make the decision quickly, as it looks like Zaraki is ready to kill someone."

When Nnoitra said nothing Sombra cancelled his Cero and flashed back to where Orihime, Sora, and Yachiru were standing, giving him a good view of the battle that was to come, though that gave Nnoitra the chance to pull himself together and face his opponents with his usual smile.

"Seems like this guy can't take a hint." Ichigo stated, though even as he said that he, Nel, and Grimmjow readied themselves and their weapons, and that included him putting on his Hollow mask once more, before he turned towards Kenpachi for a moment, "Just so you know, this guys' skin is extremely tough, but if you sharpen your reiatsu, like I did in our battle in Soul Society, you'll be able to cut him."

"And don't worry about Nnoitra claiming that four on one is unfair," Nel added, as there was something from her past, that was associated with the Espada in front of them, that she felt that she needed to share before the battle got started once more, "When I was an Espada, and Nnoitra was a lower rank at the time, he occasionally killed entire colonies of Hollows, sometimes even ten at a time against him, while looking for the Vasto Lorde that call Hueco Mundo home, so he's not about to complain that this is unfair. Also, don't bother aiming for his eyes, the remainder of his Hollow mask and his Hollow hole are located right where his left eye would be, and that's why he wears the eye patch."

"Oh, it doesn't matter if it's one on one or four on one, cause I'll kill all of you!" Nnoitra stated, because while he had sensed Zaraki's reiatsu, and knew that it was strong, he could still overcome the odds that were stacked against him and kill the four enemies that were in front of them, which was why he brought his weapon down on where the four of them happened to be standing.

Ichigo, Grimmjow, and Nel jumped to the side as Nnoitra attacked them, with Zaraki raising his Zanpakuto to catch the head of their enemy's weapon and the two struggled like that for a moment as they both grinned, though that was short-lived as he knocked the Espada away from him. As that happened the trio rushed him, avoiding the attacks that were sent their way and swinging their weapons as necessary, though with Sombra watching over their fight the three of them felt better knowing that he was there and it drove them to do better than ever before. The result of that was that Grimmjow's claws were able to cut through Nnoitra's Hierro like he was cutting through butter, allowing him to grab onto their opponent whenever he wanted and hurl him at one of the others, so that they could deal some damage as well. Nel, who could already cut their foe, found that the restoration of her mask stabilized her former powers and allowed her to duck and weave through Nnoitra's now familiar attacks without being scratched, even though she did cut him once or twice on his exposed arm before pulling back. Ichigo, fueled by the desire to save Orihime and take her back to Karakura Town, also found that his swings were empowered as well, as he was able to leave small cuts in Nnoitra's body, but for the most part, if he wasn't using a Getsuga Tensho, he really left most of the fighting to Zaraki, who seemed to be the opponent that the Espada was focusing on at the moment.

In the span of a few minutes Nnoitra focused the majority of his attention on Zaraki, who seemed to be enjoying the time that the Espada was dedicating to him, while at the same time making sure that he kept his eye on the other foes that were around him, since Ichigo, Grimmjow, and Nel were still attacking him and wounding him every now and then... but it was hard to do that when the collisions between him and Zaraki vibrated through the air and shook the sand around them, all signs telling him that he was the opponent that he wanted to beat first. Nnoitra's excitement grew when he was able to land a cut on Zaraki's left shoulder, sending blood through the air in the process, but since the secret of how to overcome his Hierro had been revealed that only meant that his opponent was able to cut his shoulder in return, before the two of them backed away for just a few seconds. When Zaraki swung his weapon and knocked Nnoitra into the air, however, the Espada grabbed onto the chain that connected his weapon to himself and swung it through the air, like he was creating a cyclone, before throwing it down to where his opponent was standing. Zaraki, on the other hand, stepped to the side and let the weapon hit the ground beside him, which he followed up with grabbing the chain and pulled Nnoitra down to where he was standing, before grabbing his head and slammed him into the large boulder that was near them, as he recalled Nel's warning and didn't both striking the area behind the eye patch.

"I'm not one to take the advice of others when I do battle, but, since she seems to know what she's talking about, I'm inclined to believe one of Sombra's allies." Zaraki stated, though at the same time he turned his attention to the Espada they were fighting, who growled and yanked on the chain for a moment, pulling his weapon back to his hand and readied himself for the next round of their battle, "Besides, your skin is definitely pretty tough... but now I know exactly what I need to do to cut you, which means our battle is going to get more dangerous for all of us."

To prove his point Zaraki went on the offensive once more, causing Nnoitra to defend himself with his axe-shaped weapon as he parried the attacks that were coming his way and avoided some of the more dangerous attacks, all while noticing that the other three were watching to see if Zaraki learned what they had told him. The moment came when Zaraki swung his Zanpakuto and knocked Nnoitra's weapon out of the way, who wasn't even worried and even moved his left arm in front of his chest, but that was when Zaraki smiled and swung his weapon downwards, cutting a gash into the Espada's arm and causing a look of surprise to appear on his face. It was what the others were waiting for, as they were making sure that their ally knew what sort of level his reiatsu needed to be sharpened to in order to cut their opponent, and while Nnoitra was stunned Zaraki reversed his swing and cut a second gash next to the first one, which was when Nnoitra jumped backwards and stared at his arm for a moment. Once he got over the fact that all four of his opponents had been able to cut him, and Sombra was able to break a bone without even using any weapons at all, Nnoitra jumped into the air and attacked Zaraki again... but this time around, when Zaraki defended against the attack, he grinned as his Zanpakuto dug into the metal of Nnoitra's weapon and severed part of it in the process.

When Nnoitra landed a few steps away from Zaraki, however, the group found that the upper parts of the upper half of his axe-shaped weapon had been cut off, as two blades were laying nearby, and there was a horizontal cut on Nnoitra's face, indicating that more than just his weapon had been damaged. The fact that he had been damaged seemed to break something in the Espada, as he stood there for a moment and exposed another weakness, because Zaraki charged at him and he only regained himself as the Captain swung his Zanpakuto, cutting another gash into his opponent's exposed chest as he knocked him backwards. Nnoitra then let his tongue out and fired a Cero right at Zaraki, though no one called out to him, because they all believed that he would be just fine, and they were proven to be correct when he extended his right arm and caught the attack with his hand, before hurling the attack off to his right, where it soared through the air and collided with one of the boulders, blowing it to pieces in the process. When Zaraki started to approach Nnoitra, however, the Espada really became desperate and charged at his current opponent, though when he swung his right hand at Zaraki all he succeeded in doing was knocking off his opponent's eye patch, revealing that he actually had two functioning eyes and not one that was messed up... though with the sudden increase of his reiatsu, which stunned Nnoitra, Zaraki grinned as he swung his Zanpakuto downward and cut a vertical line into the Espada's body, letting blood burst from the wound as his opponent backed up.

While all this happened, and blood dripped onto the sand between him and Zaraki, the white eye patch he had been wearing fell apart as well, revealing his mask fragment and the location of his Hollow hole, but he barely paid it any attention as he focused on the one foe that he really wanted to kill, more than Nelliel at this point.

"You moron. You knocked my eye patch off." Zaraki commented, though at that point his smile turned into a frown, as there was a good reason that he wore the thing to begin with, besides using it as a trump card to increase his reiatsu by an explosive amount, before he faced the Espada, "Now I can't hold back any more. Let me tell you something; that eye patch you knocked off is a seal. I use it to suppress a good bit of my reiatsu, so I can take my time and savor each fight for longer periods of time, instead of finishing them instantly. You know, you're the first person that's taken the full force of one of my swings and managed to stay standing despite the damage I've dealt... though the question becomes will you die standing, or do you have any fight left in you before you die?"

"There's no way... that something like... this... will kill me!" Nnoitra declared, to which he started to gather his reiatsu, forming a yellow aura around him and creating a small shockwave in the process, before he reached the point where he lifted his weapon into the air above his head and readied himself, "Pray, Santa Teresa!"

The moment he uttered the Release Call for his Zanpakuto, the one thing that Sombra had been keeping an eye on since all Espada had a Resurreccion and Nnoitra hadn't shown him yet, Nnoitra's reiatsu started to flow out from the empty space of the top blade, knocking up a wind that forced everyone to stand their ground as they waited for the dust to clear. When the dust cleared they found that Nnoitra had gained an extra set of arms, which had taken on an insect-like carapace and included clawed hands, with each of his four hands holding a large scythe-like weapon as well, which actually seemed to resemble the appendages of a praying mantis and had a small golden tassel at the end of each staff. Nnoitra also gained a golden marking extending from his forehead to below his right eye, as well as a pair of horns on his head that resembled a crescent moon, with the left horn being slightly longer than the right. The Espada even gained several white, tendril-like appendages around his torso which extend over the sides of his abdomen, while his Hollow mask became torn, with the teeth extending over the hole itself, to make him look even more threatening than before... and the wounds that Zaraki had dealt to his body had closed up as well, though the one on his chest and the vertical one of his face ended up leaving a scar where they had been moments ago.

"So, how does it feel to see an Espada release their Zanpakuto for the first time?" Nnoitra asked, as he had to imagine that his opponents were scared of him, save for Grimmjow and Nelliel since they had both seen him in this form at one point in time.

"To be honest, you're not that intimidating," Zaraki replied, to which he jerked a thumb back towards Sombra, who was studying the battle that was going on in front of them, as he remembered what happened the time that the two of them had fought, "Sombra, on the other hand, was intimidating back when he invaded Soul Society and that's only with him having the ability to use his Bankai... so I can only imagine how intimidating his Resurreccion had to be for the first person that fought it. Between you and me, I'm more curious if he can combine the two, because a battle against both of his powers would be one for the ages. Besides, you do have some excellent reiatsu... I'm going to enjoy this."

Zaraki charged into battle once more and swung his Zanpakuto down at Nnoitra, who used one of the back arms to block the incoming attack with the blade it was carrying, before using the one that was below it to cut a diagonal gash into the Captain's chest, causing blood to fly for a moment. Despite hitting the sand, however, Nnoitra immediately assumed that his opponent was dead from the first attack and moved into a better position to attack the remaining three foes that were near him, though before he could do anything Zaraki's reiatsu surged once more and the group found his reiatsu taking the shape of a skull, the same one that Ichigo had seen during the final moments of their clash, before Zaraki swung down at him and forced Nnoitra to back off, minus his upper right arm. Of course that didn't last very long, as all Nnoitra had to do was focus his reiatsu and a new arm replaced the one he had lost, to which he surged forward and grabbed his missing weapon, arming himself will all four of them again as he charged at Zaraki once more. For a moment it seemed like Zaraki was on the ropes, as he couldn't quite handle four weapons at the same time and was knocked into one of the structures nearby, but when Nnoitra went to check on him Zaraki kicked at him and then forced him to guard with all four handle sections of his weapons... until Nnoitra revealed his next ability, as it turned out he had two hidden arms that he had been saving and the right one tore through Zaraki's side, coming out of his back in the process.

Once he removed his new hand from Zaraki's body, and let the Captain back up while coughing up some blood at the same time, Nnoitra revealed that both of his new hands could also wield the same weapon as his other hands did, as they shot out the weapons from their wrists and collected them, giving him six scythe-like weapons to do battle with.

"Hey Shinigami, your friends should join in the fun." Nnoitra shouted, though at the same time he charged forward and started swinging at Zaraki again, though since it was six weapons against one it was much harder for Zaraki to actually fight back... but when he glanced back at Ichigo, Grimmjow, and Nel for a moment, even if he got cut in the process, the three of them understood what he wanted from them.

While Nnoitra was focused on attacking Zaraki, who defended and attacked to the best of his ability, Grimmjow was the first to make his move, as he waited for the perfect opportunity to strike and it appeared when Nnoitra's defenses were lowered, to which he leveled his right elbow at the Quinto Espada and grinned. A few seconds later the five dark green crystalline darts that rested on each of his elbow, five on each one to be exact, launched themselves through the air and struck his target right in the back, causing him to stagger forward for a moment, making him pleased that his Garra de la Pantera, or Claw of the Panther, had such an effect on their opponent. The opening he created was to see just how much stronger his Hierro had gotten, allowing all four of them to sharpen their reiatsu accordingly, and Zaraki did just that, even though his first swing did nothing to actually hurt Nnoitra and he ended up getting cut in the process, but he just grinned and continued fighting back. Nel, despite this being the perfect time for her to show off her Resurreccion, held off on using her full power and used her already grand power to move through the air and attack Nnoitra whenever she desired, causing their foe to growl as he constantly switched from trying to behead her to cutting Zaraki, and then having to deal with Grimmjow appearing and disappearing. Ichigo's contribution to the battle, on the other hand, was a powerful Getsuga Tensho that Nnoitra blocked with all six of his weapons, even though he was wearing his mask, but, like last time, that was just a distraction that allowed Zaraki to continue testing his edge and figure out the necessary strength they needed now... and it was well worth it, because soon enough he was able to cut a small gash into Nnoitra's right cheek, which revealed the sharpness they needed to turn the tide of this battle in their favor.

Despite their discovery Nnoitra even cut a gash into Zaraki's neck, causing the Captain to knock him backwards for a moment as the others dropped down near him, as he looked like he might have an idea and that there was a chance that he needed them to assist him.

"At this rate, he'll end up killing me," Zaraki commented, as both sleeves of his Shinigami attire had been cut off and he had a number of cuts that were bleeding, though while Ichigo was surprised by this statement he did have one idea they could use to end the fight, "I've got no choice... I have to use Kendo. It's been a while since I've used it though, so can you stall him for a few moments?"

"Sure, I've got one more technique that might do the trick," Grimmjow said, to which he flexed his claws for a moment, as he had been waiting to use this particular technique against someone that wasn't Sombra, before he turned to the others, "I guess that means that we'll need the strongest Gran Rey Cero and Getsuga Tensho that the two of you can pull off to make sure he doesn't move anywhere besides in the direction that Zaraki is standing in."

Ichigo and Nel nodded before the three of them flashed away from where the Captain was standing, as Grimmjow placed himself high above Nnoitra's back, Nel positioned herself some distance to Nnoitra's left, and Ichigo did the same thing on their foe's right side. Grimmjow prepared himself as his reiatsu gathered for a few moments, especially since his claws glowed blue as he did so, before making a slashing motion with each of his arms, creating five large blades that were connected to his claws and happened to be made out of reishi. This was his strongest attack, Desgarron, meaning Laceration, and with ten blades he was capable of swinging all ten of them at the same time, to which he roared for a moment and swung his right arm towards Nnoitra, loosing the five blades that were attached to his claws, before doing the same thing with his left arm and let the remaining five blades follow the first pair. Nnoitra, glancing back for a second to see what was happening, used his uppermost arms and their weapons to block the incoming attack, which actually pushed him forward a little bit, but he smirked as he realized that he was definitely stronger than the traitorous Sexta Espada, to which he turned his attention back to his real opponent... but unfortunately that never happened, as he was forced to use his remaining right arms and weapons to block Ichigo's empowered Getsuga Tensho and his remaining left arms to stall Nelliel's pink Gran Rey Cero, boxing him into the position he was in as he battled three powerful techniques at the same time.

While all this was going on Zaraki remembered what he had been taught when the Captain-Commander forced him to attend a Kendo class, because wielding a weapon with two hands, as it turned out, make an attack much more powerful and it was because it made him even stronger that the lessons were stopped... but while Nnoitra was stuck in a single area he brought his Zanpakuto level with the middle of his body and grabbed it with both of his hands, before pulling his arms above his head and swung.

"Shit..." Nnoitra managed to say, as the moment he noticed what the Captain was doing, resulting in a wave of yellow energy barreling towards him, he realized that having all four of them fight him at the same time had been one of the dumbest moves had had ever made, and once Zaraki's attack hit him he lost the strength to hold the other three back, allowing him to be caught in an explosion that rocked the area around them.

When the smoke cleared at long last, and Ichigo, Grimmjow, and Nel had returned to Zaraki's side, they were allowed to see the damage that their combined assault had dealt to Nnoitra's body, though they were surprised to see that he was still standing, despite the fact that his left arms were missing, half of his left horn had been cleave clean off, and his body had nearly been cut in half, causing all the blood they were seeing around where he rested.

"You're still alive?" Zaraki inquired, as he was just as amazed as the others were, because that had to be the strongest attack he had used in a long time, much stronger than the ones he used in his fights against Ichigo and Sombra, and yet the Espada was still alive, "I've got to admit, you're one tough bastard, but this is where our battle ends. I'm not obliged to go out of my way and kill everyone I fight, I do it when I feel like it, and I'm not about to kill someone that clearly can't fight back and is going to die anyway."

"You know, if you bow your head now, Sombra will give you a place in his new kingdom and heal you," Grimmjow said, as Orihime could easily handle the wound that Zaraki had dealt to the Espada, and while he may not actually like Nnoitra he knew that Sombra wanted to save as many Arrancar as he could.

"As is... I'd serve... that weakling..." Nnoitra stated, to which he pushed himself back onto his feet and used some of his remaining reiatsu to generate the missing parts of his arms, though one of his right ones would have to be used to keep his body together as he continued the fight, "Lord Aizen will be the..."

In the following moments Sombra sighed and an elegant mirror appeared behind Nnoitra, causing the others to look at him in surprise as he appeared nearby and faced the defeated Espada, though just like last time his reiatsu flared as the surface rippled, to which the shadows burst forth and formed chains around all of Nnoitra's arms and his legs. The group watched as he banished the Quinto Espada to the Shadowlands, where he would spend the rest of his days in a realm of pure terror as he faced his own fears and nightmares, though once his target was gone Sombra closed the gate and let the mirror disappear until he needed it again. He glanced over to the Arrancar that had been following Nnoitra and noticed that Zaraki must have killed Tesra instantly, as his reiatsu was gone and his body was still, before he turned towards the group and readied himself, as two of them were eager to hear what he had to say.

"Grimmjow, Nel, Ichigo," Sombra said, to which the two Arrancar that were present stood at attention, causing Ichigo to do the same thing, while at the same time Orihime, Sora, and Zaraki stared at him, "As of right now the majority of our group is heading to the fifth tower of Las Noches, where Aizen's throne room is located, and where our foe might be waiting for us. What I want you to do is stay here for a few minutes and heal your wounds, especially you Zaraki, and then move out once you're ready to go, though while you're doing that I'm going to check on Rukia and see what's going on over there, as it appears that another Espada has moved into the area that she's laying in. Once I'm done checking up on her, and I'm sure that she's okay from her battle with Aaroniero, we'll join you and Szayelaporro's group for the final attack on our enemy's base... though if you find Aizen before that then make sure you contact me so I can take him out."

"Yes sir!" Grimmjow and Nel replied, their expressions showing Sombra that they were happy to actually be doing something for the greater good of Hueco Mundo, while at the same time Ichigo seemed confused as to what was going on at the moment, just like when they invaded Soul Society.

Sombra nodded his head and flashed through the air, heading back to the area that Aaroniero's palace was in and where Rukia was resting, because it appeared that there was one more enemy that needed to be taken out before they all started the main assault on Aizen's main base... and then, when Aizen and the remaining Espada had been taken out, or possibly recruited into the new order of this world, the war between the traitorous Captain and Soul Society would be over at long last.

Comments

[prism heart]

Epic, i love Nelliel and am excited to see her join Sombra (and for Grimmjow to officially join)

[Midnight Moon]

Nnoitra, there's bloodthirsty, there's overconfidence, there's suicidal overconfidence, and then there's just plain stupid. You managed to reach a level beyond even that. At this rate, your only hope is to die in the Shadowlands, or stop thinking.

[Raven dove]

"It seems another has learned their place in the pecking order." a voice said, to which Szayelaporro, now dressed in a much cleaner version of his attire, the same type that Uryu had blown apart earlier, stepped out into the open and approached the group, "Lord Sombra, I am ready to depart whenever you are ready."

you had to make the meme did t you

[Silent_Knight]

Just read the title ( and olny the title) all i gotta say is...

[Black--Soul]

Ainz better pull one epic Deus ex machina out of his smug ass or he is sooo boned