I'D LIKE TO STATE HERE: THE FIRST 31 CHAPTERS ARE BY THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR FLAMES OF NOCTURNE: ALL AFTER ARE MINE

Chapter 1

Opening her eyes as she entered the fake Karakura Town, Ichigo saw the scene of many of her nightmares. Setting her exhausted father down, she made sure to hide his prone form from prying eyes, she knew that it wasn't the best of arrangements but time was running short. With whispered thanks she hefted Zangetsu and ran to the center of town, where she knew Aizen was waiting. Ever since Rukia had jumped into her room that fateful night, Ichigo had been thrust into a world she wasn't yet meant to enter, and yet it suited her. Fighting hollows had soon become something she excelled at, to the point that Rukia grudgingly admitted her surprise at the seemingly natural talent Ichigo had displayed. Then everything fell apart, first came the farce execution of her friend, which although it was averted still resulted in a more sinister plot being revealed. But, Ichigo knew that wouldn't be left out of it, so she trained, she showed a determination and inner fire to improve that worried her mentors, though they never admitted it nor did they show it. But despite their assurances that Soul Society would handle Aizen, Ichigo knew within herself that all she loved would be threatened, and she would protect her friends to the very end.

Then came the day that Orihime was kidnapped, and Ichigo, despite orders otherwise managed to penetrate the fortress of Las Noches with the help of friends both new and old. Yet when she came to the confrontation of Ulquiorra she learned the truth of the manipulations of Aizen. After she nearly lost control to her inner hollow, Ichigo could hear the words of the cuatra espada, and found sympathy with the enemy, though she kept that secret close to her heart. It had struck something deep within her, having seen the emotionless Ulquiorra question in his final moments if he finally understood the heart, seeing that, Ichigo couldn't bring herself to strike him down. His plight had reminded her of herself, when she had felt lost after her mother's death as she had wondered if perhaps she would be better off cutting herself off from her friends to save herself from the pain of losing another person close to her heart. Yet her sisters had been the ones to save her from becoming like Ulquiorra.

Now as she raced to end the man that threatened her friends, threatened her family, she knew her price as the fused version of her inner hollow, almost fondly remembering the last words spoken to her by her demented albino copy, 'Give em' hell for me eh Queen? After all Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn!' , but the hollowfied Tensa Zangetsu had made the cost clear, she still remembered their words, and the implications of what she is about to do.

Flashback

"You cannot continue with one foot in each world Ichigo, you cannot continue to live and remain a shinigami or a hollow. You have accepted us as a part of you, and in doing so you have left behind humanity. The Final Getsuga shall be the closing of one chapter of your existence and the opening of another, do this and we will be with you forever, because you will not be able to reenter your human body, you will be too powerful. Don't do it and we will separate once more, Hichigo will return because you will have rejected us for humanity."

Ichigo could feel a deep pit of dread, "I must decide? I don't— I don't want to leave you, you are a part of me as I am a part of you. But, I must leave my friends? My family?"

Here the hollowfied Tensa Zangetsu frowned, "You would falter in your drive? Think clearly and set your resolve." After this, his eyes softened though, "But remember, Hichigo is you as I am your Zanpakuto, and as Hichigo became a part of me she became a part of you when you accepted her, and remember that we always wanted to protect, you."

Ichigo then closed her eyes, Tensa Zangetsu's words calmed her fears, as she hardened her resolve. Even if it cost her, her human life, she would do whatever it took to protect her sisters, and her friends. She would stand strong.

Across from her the hollowfied Tensa Zangetsu gave a smile as he felt her decision.

End Flashback

Closing her eyes, Ichigo reached out with her reiatsu to try and find her sisters, finding their signatures she quickly flash stepped to their location, and upon arriving found them safe with Rukia.

"Yuzu! Karin!"

Both of Ichigo's sisters looked over to her direction, noticing her new appearance with hardly the batting of an eye before rushing towards her.

"Ichi-nee!"

The family quickly came together, Ichigo falling to her knees as she hugged her sisters close to her, "Yuzu, Karin, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry…"

The two pulled back, looking at her in shock and worry, "Ichi-nee, what do you mean?"

Closing her eyes Ichigo could not bring herself to see their reactions, "I— I am a Shinigami, a soul reaper. Ever since Rukia came I've been fighting hollows, and now this war has come home, and it is my fault."

Karin had an angry look on her face, "No, listen to me. You were being you, a protecter. You were protecting us from those monsters; I remember that night nee-chan, when everything started."

Ichigo looked at her sister in shock, "I can see them now, so can Yuzu, but we didn't want you to worry, you had enough to deal with."

Despite herself Ichigo could feel herself choking up, "Thank you, but after today, whether I survive or not I can't stay with you."

"What!"

"I can't stay a living shinigami, when Urahara cut my chain of fate and threw me into the shattered shaft to regain my powers; I technically died then as my chain was severed. Yet as I could still use my body it would eventually re-grow so to speak but I would lose my powers. But with Aizen I can't let that happen, I'm going to be officially dead Karin, Yuzu."

Yuzu had tears streaming down her eyes, and even Karin, despite her best efforts was shedding tears, "But, Rukia and Renji came to the living world!"

Ichigo offered a small smile, "Yea, I can visit but I don't know if I can or for how long, I'll belong to soul society."

Rukia lurked at the edge of earshot, guilt clearly written across her face, 'I tore this family apart with my weakness.' It was there that she vowed to help her friend visit as often as she wanted.

Karin, in an uncharacteristic display of emotion then spoke up, in barely a whisper, "Ichi-nee, I don't want to lose you too."

Hearing her plea Ichigo returned, "I don't either Karin, I don't want to lose either you or Yuzu, but I have to do this. To keep you safe, even if it is from afar from now on."

It was then that she heard Zangetsu whisper cryptic instructions in her mind, telling her to focus and harden her reiatsu in her hand, saying that he could do this for her. Confused but compliant she did as instructed, and soon she felt something hard in her hand, opening it up she saw two small , white crescent moons, with a black string threaded through each one forming two necklaces. Just by feeling them she could tell that they were the same material as her hollow mask, the smooth material warm in her hand as she stared at them, 'thank you Zangetsu'

She received no reply but could feel the nod from her partner, turning back to her sisters she told them, "Yuzu, Karin, take these, so you will always have a part of me with you, they are made of my unique reiatsu, my hollow mask, so in time, when you go to soul society,-" here she broke off to give them a glare and scowl, "-Which better be a long time from now, you can find me, and I can find you."

The two grabbed the necklaces, and placed them around their necks, Yuzu then spoke through her tears, "Don't worry Ichi-nee, we'll keep them close, now get out there and kick that stupid baka's butt."

Letting out a true smile Ichigo stood back up, "Count on it Yuzu, now get back to Rukia and stay safe, I'll visit as soon as I can."

Turning around Ichigo called out to Rukia, "I'm so sorry Ichigo, if I hadn't-"

Her usual scowl back on in full force Ichigo interrupted her vertically challenged friend, "Stop right there, I don't blame you, it was my own choices that led to this, in fact I should be thanking you."

Rukia looked up at her in shock, "Thanking me? What for?"

Ichigo gave her a look as if she were crazy, "For keeping my sisters safe of course. Now keep up the good job, I'll see you later."

With that Ichigo began to shunpo to where she knew Aizen to be waiting. Upon arriving she saw him gloating over her friends and the other forces from Soul Society, yet as he noticed her his smirk became even more smug, "Well, well, well, Ichigo, it seems that you haven't taken the chance I gave you to get stronger. What a shame, I was looking forward to testing my power on a pathetic resistance such as yourself."

Ichigo's scowl was at full force, glaring angrily at the man in front of her, "Aizen, let's take this elsewhere, I don't want to hurt my friends."

Here the power hungry traitor frowned, "And that is why you are weak, you threw away your reiatsu, and yet you think to beat me?"

Ichigo said nothing, merely grabbing her foe and shunpoing far away enough that they could fight without holding back.

"Impressive, but not enough, you think that by merely enhancing you physical abilities you could defeat me? A god?"

Ichigo narrowed her eyes, "Enough of the ego Aizen, the reason you can't sense me is because I'm that much stronger than you, I may have to sacrifice myself but so long as I end you," she readjusted her grip on her sword, "Then so be it."

Aizen began to launch an attack, his wings opening wide while Ichigo stood still releasing the truth of her being now that she had fully bonded with her hollow, she assumed her true appearance, as a white substance forming around the top of her head and around her eyes, forming a horned crown of a helmet upon her forehead, the horns arching upwards, the horns facing the sky as a strip of the mask followed the red markings beneath her left eye and formed a white copy under her right eye, yet from the top of her right eye were two small crescent moon shaped cut outs, the rest of her forehead markings present though. From where her mask touched her hairline, streaks of snowy white shot across her hair, creating streaks of white and orange. As Aizen released his attack she raised her hand, two fingers pointing directly towards the incoming energy and whispered one word, sending out a blast of black and red energy, "cero"

The effect was immediate; the air filled with the frightening feel of the hollow attack, as both attacks canceled each other out and Aizen could now see Ichigo's new mask fragment. "So, you too are a transcendent being, are you now an arracnar? No, you are a true fusion of hollow and shinigami, between vizard and arracnar, this fight should be interesting."

Ichigo said nothing, 'ready Zangetsu?'

The reply was immediate, 'Don't hold back'

With that Ichigo launched a furious assault with her sword, giving Aizen no chance to retaliate, and forcing him on the defensive.

"Enough, Shatter-"

"You talk too much, Getsuga Tensho!"

Ichigo's attack sent a great wave of dark crackling energy at Aizen, ominous and oppressive, the man tried to block it but was soon overpowered, throwing him back and into the ground. Ichigo launched herself at Aizen, causing the white, butterfly-ish man to widen his eyes at the ferocity with which she fought. Each of the two exchanged blows with their swords and yet, despite his best efforts no matter where he struck, Ichigo's blade of black night was blocking him. Finally came the moment where Ichigo could not block his blade so she raised her left hand, and caught the blade in her bare hand.

'What? She caught it?', Aizen thought in shock, his eyes twitching in surprise.

"Why so surprised?", Ichigo asked.

At this, Aizen gasped in shock, his eyes staring at Kurosaki with disbelief.

"Does it scare you?", Ichigo taunted, letting a little of her inner hollow's smile out, "That something you can't comprehend happened right before your eyes?"

Aizen stared in shock, but then he narrowed his eyes and chuckled, thinking he had solved the parlor trick. Suddenly, an a dark, purple aura surrounded Aizen as he begun to chant.

"The oozing crest of corruption! The arrogant vessel of madness! Deny the seething urge... Stun and flicker... Disrupt the sleep! The crawling queen of iron! The eternally self-destructing doll of mud! Unite! Repulse! Fill the earth, and know your own powerlessness! Hado #90 Kurohitsugi!", Aizen roared, spittle flying form his mouth.

Suddenly, a large black box with a purple outline started to surround Ichigo, as it warped the space around her, the black box letting out a dark aura of corrupted wrongness.

"Now that I transcend both Hollows and Shinigami, this is a full incantation of Kurohitsugi!", Aizen boasted.

Ichigo just stared with no emotion as the black coffin surrounded her. As soon as it encased her, covering her up from the world, Aizen smirked in triumph. Yet, Ichigo just used her left arm and swung it, destroying the Kido.

"You don't seem to realize, do you?", Ichigo said in a monotone, as if bored.

Aizen just stared in shock as Ichigo continued, "My power is greater than the power you have.".

Ichigo then started to approach Aizen slowly, her approach was predatory, she idilly mused that after becoming one with her inner hollow, and accepting that her hollow was her she seemed to have taken on some of Hichigo's personality… quirks. She then took off without warning, leaping towards her foe and bringing down Tensa Zangetsu and slashing Aizen's shoulder, the blade of pure black cutting into his flesh. All while Aizen's eyes widened in fear.

Blood shot from the wound, and Aizen retreated to higher ground, using his strange technique. Ichigo lowered her weapon to a defensive position in front of her. Aizen just clutched his wound, glaring at the defiant youth in front of him, suddenly, Ichigo smirked.

"What an odd feeling.", Ichigo said, bringing Aizen out of his trance.

"When I backed away in our last fight, you asked me why.", She reminded Aizen, "But now you're doing the same thing. So let me ask the same question: 'Why did you just back away right now?'"

Aizen's eyes widened at what he heard, but then he started to glare at Ichigo, anger boiling inside his veins at the thought of being compared to the human in front of him.

"I see…", Aizen said. His Zanpakto-fused hand started to shake.

"You're pleased that you stopped my attack?"

His face started to twist into pure anger and hatred.

"Are you pleased that you overcame my Kido?"

The wound on his shoulder started to regenerate, making a bubbly substance appear.

"Are you pleased that you were able to draw my blood?"

Aizen then lost his entire calm demeanor as a fury like none other appeared in his eyes and on his face.

"ABBANDON YOUR ARROGANCE, YOU FILTHY HUMAN!"

Suddenly Aizen's form changed again, becoming even more monstrous As purple reiatsu burst from him, and like that, Aizen let out an agonizing scream as a pillar of purple reishi formed around him. Ichigo narrowed her eyes to slits, bringing her zanpakuto up in front of her on a defensive level, 'Tensa Zangetsu, are you ready?'

The reassuring voice of her partner, though still hollowfied eased her slight worry, 'I am with you Ichigo, I sense that his transformation will end soon.'

Then, blood started to gush out of the pillar, which collapsed. It revealed Aizen with a black Hollow-like face with three, blank white eyes. There were three holes in his body now, with the Hogyoku in the center of his second hole. His wings also changed, revealing monstrous heads and eye-shaped objects.

"I see… this is completely unforgiveable, isn't it, Hogyoku.", Aizen said, his voice slightly altered, more similar to a hollow's. "That I, let a mere human get the better of me."

Then, with a simple movement of his wing, Aizen released a small, purple Cero from one of his wing-mouths. It collided with Ichigo at super speed and it caused a massive detonation. So large was the explosion, that a mushroom-shaped cloud formed at the mountains, allowing Ichigo's friends to see it, sending fear into their hearts at the thought of their friend being in the middle of the destruction. Yuzu and Karin both shouted Ichigo's name in fear before they followed Ichigo's friends to a place where they could see what was happening. Hoping that the strawberry who they all held dear was alive.

A massive crater was formed by this small Cero. Aizen, smug from the display of his power approached the edge of the crater, confident that Ichigo had not survived. Yet to his shock and ire he saw her emerge from the fire and smoke.

Ichigo just glared at Aizen, but that changed as Aizen suddenly grabbed Ichigo's neck and swept her past the fire. Then, his wings surrounded her and formed three rings of reiatsu.

"Can you hear me, Kurosaki Ichigo?", Aizen questioned.

"Indeed, for a moment, you broke the boundaries between Hollows and Shinigami to become a transcendent being. But that power is no more! Not a trace of it remains!"

"You're no longer worth trying to understand anymore.", Aizen said, disappointment in his voice.

"I, a true transcendent being, will kill you. By killing you, I will completely break free from insignificant Hollows and Shinigami alike!"

Then, by squeezing his captive's neck harder, Aizen shouted, "It's all over for you! Kurosaki Ichigo!"

"You say that it is over?" Ichigo questioned, "It isn't over, and you are still threatening my family and my friends."

And like that, Ichigo swung her sword in an arc, destroying the binds that Aizen had holding her and causing Aizen to back away slightly.

"Let's end this already, Aizen.", Ichigo said with a bored gaze.

"I have grown sick… of your… arguments."

Aizen just glared at the girl when he saw Ichigo place her right arm, fused with her Zanpakuto, and placed her left arm on her right elbow. Aizen realized this was a similar stance to when Ichigo activated her Bankai, but he wasn't worried as there were no other releases she could enter.

"I'll show you.", Ichigo said, a small smirk appearing on her lips as her eyes filled with determination.

"This is the Final Getsuga Tensho!"

With that said, black and midnight-blue reiatsu surrounded Ichigo's body like a pillar, which caused Aizen to have shock enter his mind.

"What is… that form?", Aizen questioned in shock.

The reiatsu then dissolved from Ichigo, only revealing some of Ichigo's new form. Then, the reiatsu pushed away from her body, causing Aizen to shield his face with his arm, and when he lowered, he was shocked beyond comparison.

Ichigo was wearing black hakama, made from reiatsu. At the bottom where her feet were, wisps of reiatsu leaked off there was also a strip of black cloth identical to the hakama that covered her chest, there were grey bandages that covered her waist, lower face and right arm. From the elbow down on her right arm, black reiatsu was also leaking off. But what was a more drastic change was Ichigo's hair; it was waist length and as black as the night sky without moon and stars. Her hair was flowing from the wind that was caused from her transformation. On her arm, were a few stripe-like tattoos.

"The Final Getsuga Tensho is… me… becoming Getsuga itself, at the cost of my human life, accessible only because I had the chance to regrow my chain of fate and return to normal life. But now, I will be fully dead, but a price I am willing pay to protect those I care for.", Ichigo explained, revealing red irises instead of the amber they had become after her fusion with Hichigo.

Aizen's eyes widened more in shock.

'I still cannot sense her power.', he thought.

"I have evolved into a being far beyond that of a Shinigami. Just as two-dimensional beings can never interact with three-dimensional beings, no Shinigami or human can sense my reiatsu unless I bring it down to their level of awareness." Ichigo explained what Zangetsu had told her prior to their temporary merge.

'Could it… could it possibly be that she… is at an even higher level than myself?'.With that thought, Aizen gnashed his teeth together and had his eyes narrowed.

"That is absurd! It is impossible!", Aizen hollered.

"A mere human cannot surpass me! That cannot be!"

Ichigo just raised her right arm above her head a form of black reiatsu began to condense, the darkness impenetrable and ominous. "Mugetsu."

As the hand was brought down, a burst of black reiatsu burst forth from Ichigo's reishi-like sword, engulfing the land into pitch darkness, but Aizen refused to die alone, knowing that Heco Mundo had been sealed off by Yamamoto for an indeterminate period of time to allow Soul Society to recover after the war, and knowing that Ichigo would need to recover from this form, he launched a condensed Gargantura at Ichigo before he was torn apart by the Mugetsu, his soul torn by the blades of pure shadows and the Hogyoku burning itself up along with its host under the onslaught of darkness.

-Page Break-

Yuzu and Karin both clung to Rukia as she shunpoed to where Ichigo was fighting Aizen, they along with Renji, Urahara, Tessai, and Yoriochi had arrived in time to see Ichigo transform into Getsuga and Urahara, was able to hear what was said, and told the others upon their arrival.

"Why? Why would she do so much for us?" Rukia managed to get out past her tears,

Renji just gripped the hilt of his zanpakuto till his hand turned white, "That idiotic, self-sacrificing strawberry! She didn't have to go that far!"

Urahara just looked at them sadly, "I don't like it either but it had to happen, she was the only one who could."

Renji thrust his face into Urahara's own, anger coloring his visage as he shouted at the eccentric man, "So she is to be sacrificed for fate? For the greater good?"

Urahara gained an uncharacteristically steely glint in his eyes, "Renji, I know you think of Ichigo as a dear friend, and I know I have been callous in my treatment of her, but don't think for even an instant that I wanted this!"

He then grabbed his green striped bucket hat and in his anger threw it to the ground, "She is my goddaughter damnit! Even if she became a hollow after the shattered shaft I wouldn't have been able to kill her, I had forced myself to stay away all these years because I didn't want her drawn into this world before her time!"

Urahara finally finished yelling, the others silent after the revelation before he continued in a quieter voice, "Issun and I were like brothers, and when she was born he wanted me to be a part of the family, I didn't want to get involved but I still kept a close eye on her, I always wanted her to be safe."

Everyone stared in shock; even Yoriochi who thought she knew all there was to know about her partner. After some time Yuzu and Karin came up to him, "We may not know everything, but Ichi-nii told us that she just won't be able to be human again, it's not the best but she'll still be around Urahara-san."

The others blinked at Karin's statement, before Rukia asked, "How do you know?"

Yuzu was the one to speak up next, "When she told us to stay safe, remember? Before the fight? She gave us these-" She held up the strange crescent moon necklace she had been clutching before and the others noticed it seemed to glow black, like Ichigo's getsuga tensho— "And told us that she would always try to visit and that we would see each other again. We think that they grow warm when she is nearby, cuz when she left they got cold."

Urahara was about to say something when a resounding boom shook their feet, looking back to the fight everyone noticed that where Aizen once stood was a ravaging storm of black energy, but underneath Ichigo was a massive Garantura, and it was sucking her in, she was barely clinging to consciousness as she reverted back to the form she had before, the hollow mask like helmet once more on her face, the horns reaching up through her black, but rapidly changing back to orange and white streaked hair. And then, before anyone could move she looked to them and smiled, before falling and disappearing as the portal closed behind her as her friends and family could do nothing more than look on in horror.