Bleach: Ultimate Alien

Battle of the Brains: Brain Storm vs. Szayel

Ichigo Kurosaki was angrier than he had ever been in his entire life. All the trouble began when Orihime had been take to the realm of Hueco Mundo. Not only did Soul Society brand her as a traitor, but they weren't even going to help rescue her. So instead, Ichigo and his pals Chad and Uryu had gone to Hueco Mundo instead. No sooner had they gotten there had they run into two Arrancar named Pesche and Dondochakka. They mentioned a sister of theirs named Nel and some guy named Ben. They also mentioned that Ben could turn into different monsters. Ichigo realized that this Ben guy had to the one that Hitsugaya and his team had battled and told him about. Ichigo had been curious as to what kind of being this Ben guy was.

No sooner had they reached Las Noches, they had been attacked by a giant Hollow of sand called Runuganga. They would've died if it hadn't been for the unexpected arrival of Renji and Rukia. Together they entered the realm of Las Noches and gone in separate directions.

Trouble waited for Ichigo in the form of a man called Dordonii, who was part of the Privaron Espada. As the two battled, Ichigo couldn't help but ask about this Ben guy. According to Dordonii, Ben was actually a human whose full name was Ben Tennyson. He said that Ben was powerful and had even been offered a position among the Espada. Ichigo was left speechless by this. But soon, he defeated Dordonii and moved onward.

Things got worse when he first sensed Chad's reiatsu drop and then Rukia's. But before he could do anything about it, he encountered one of the Espada. This one he remembered was called Ulquiorra. At first, Ichigo was going to ignore Ulquiorra to save Rukia. But that all changed when Ulquiorra revealed that he was the one that made Orihime come to Hueco Mundo in the first place. Now Ichigo wanted nothing more than to cut Ulquiorra down where he stood.

Or so he thought until a mysterious woman suddenly appeared in front of him. She had her back turned to him as she faced Ulquiorra.

"Wh...who are you?" Ichigo couldn't help but ask.

The woman simply turned her head to look at him before facing Ulquiorra again.

"So," Ulquiorra said as he looked at her. "You have decided to betray us, Harribel."

Ichigo's eyes widened. Was this Harribel woman one of the Espada? And why was she betraying them?

"I am disappointed, Harribel," Ulquiorra told her. "I never believed that you would ever succumb to worthless emotions."

"Worthless?" Harribel asked. "That is where you are wrong, Ulquiorra. Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ichigo slightly jumped at being addressed all of a sudden.

"The girl known as Inoue Orihime is safe for the time being," Harribel told him. "And your friends are being looked after. I will deal with Ulquiorra."

Ichigo shook his head. "No," he said. "He forced Inoue to come here. I'm gonna cut him down."

Harribel turned her head to look at Ichigo. She could see the anger and determination in his eyes. But she knew that against a foe like Ulquiorra, Ichigo was not ready to face.

"Ichigo Kurosaki," she said to him. "You are not yet strong enough to face him."

Ichigo glared. This woman just came out of nowhere and had the nerve to tell him how to fight his battles.

"So it has come to this," Ulquiorra said as he raised his blade. "You above all should know better than to disobey Aizen, Harribel."

"You above all would not understand, Ulquiorra," Harribel replied to him. "So I shall not waste words on you."

Ichigo was completely lost. What was going on here?

"Kurosaki, please trust me on this," Harribel told him. "For now, stay out of the way. Once I am done with him, I will take you to your friends"