A/N: Now, I know some of you didn't appreciate what I did last chapter, but you have to understand, surprise attacks are very devastating. Plus, with as quickly as Respira had turned Soi Fon's arm useless, I assume within seconds it would have reached Ulquiorra's organs, causing most of them to collapse.

ANYWAY, here's the last chapter! For all of you that read, but don't review, as a congratulations maybe a review would be nice? Sorry it's so short. But hear ya' go!

As always, reviews are greatly accepted, and usually well-received.

Shout-Out's:

Korhyu: Like I said, the surprise attacks are usually more devastating than they appear.

RAHbooks: I don't know whether it's good or bad that you already KNOW I'm going to bring him back, but I think I'll take it as a good thing. lol

12DEHD: Oh no, I'm not done yet. I don't have the heart to let the protagonist die for my first Bleach fic; especially if it's Ulquiorra. .

Chapter 12: Segunda Etapa

Floating. That was the only sensation Ulquiorra felt. A sense of calm, as if he were floating in water. The sea gently rocked him, while the soft waves created a lullaby of sorts. Although he was in this new place, he could still hear what happened around him in Las Noches. The woman's crying, Grimmjow's cursing, and even Baraggan ordering his Fraccion.

"Kill her." He heard from the gruff voice. Instantly, the ocean started getting more violent, the waves becoming more than lulling, starting to grow. Eventually, they were growing to tsunami size, while Ulquiorra felt himself sucked into a vortex, pulled out of the water and into the air. Along the way, he saw the faces of Austero, El Que Llora, and what once was himself.

"Save her, don't let her die. She is important to you. You have found the heart, don't let it go." They whispered various things to Ulquiorra, each giving him a sense of longing to wake up. He heard footsteps, and a shriek of pain.

Ulquiorra's eyes jerked open, observing the scene around him.

"He is not dead yet, Lord Baraggan." Pow said, staring at Ulquiorra. Suddenly, a sense of hate coursed through Ulquiorra, but even more than that, weakness. He was too weak to do anything. Ulquiorra struggled to raise one hand, reaching out towards Orihime. Pow walked over, placing his foot against Ulquiorra's chest.

"Die now, and be free of the physical world." Pow said, applying pressure. Ulquiorra winced, but brought his hands to Pow's foot, trying to push it off. Blood trickled from his lips, but he tried. He could not let Orihime died, would not. Slowly but surely, Pow's foot came up, eliciting a gasp from Orihime, and the others a shocked silence.

"I. Will. Protect. You." Ulquiorra said. He had promised he would, and he intended to keep that promise. Ulquiorra's tattered robe fell off of him, and seemingly melted into the ground. Around his lower body, what appeared to be fur had grown along his waist, legs, and arms, along with a tail. His hollow hole enlarged, oozing a black liquid resembling blood. The marks on his eyes widened, and turned even blacker, while ears resembling that of a bat grew from his head. Along with all of this, his hands grew claws, as did his feet.

Baraggan, his Fraccion, even Grimmjow's eyes widened at this second Resureccion, Ulquiorra's Segunda Etapa. Every wound he had suffered, even those he had retained from the Respira that attacked his organs, healed. He found with his regeneration that now he was able to regenerate even more than before. Ulquiorra grabbed Pow's foot, squeezing it until it shattered. The large men yelled in pain, falling onto his bottom. Ulquiorra stood up, glaring at him. He grabbed Pow, before throwing him through the wall. While Pow was in mid-air, he sent a cero the likes of which have never been seen, obliterating the Arrancar completely.

Ulquiorra turned back to the others, the now-frozen Fraccion that had been advancing to dispose of Orihime. Within the blink of an eye, Ulquiorra appeared a foot closer to Orihime, kneeling next to her. Multiple sounds of gurgling were heard, followed by thumps, as the Fraccion fell to the ground, slashes through their throats.

Baraggan eyes Ulquiorra wearily. "You killed my Fraccion in the blink of an eye. Perhaps it is time I truly knocked you down a notch." He said.

"There is no notch from which to knock me down. However, you have yet to feel the taint of true despair." Ulquiorra replied, standing up. A green javelin appeared next to Ulquiorra, black sparks running through it. It flew at Baraggan, straight and true.

"How many times have you tried this by now?" He asked, as he let his Senescia do the work. The javelin tip went down in midair, however, landing a few feet away from Baraggan. "Is that it, whelp?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Ulquiorra merely blinked, as the javelin exploded. Rather than a large explosion, it went off much like a grenade, sending shrapnel flying everywhere.

Ulquiorra spread his wings, protecting Orihime from the razor-sharp needles of spiritual energy flying everywhere. Baraggan was shown to have multiple cracks in his mask, where a few of the larger needles resisted his Senescia.

"Parlor tricks." Baraggan scoffed. He pulled his axe from out of his cloak, where he had put it again. Slowly, the Respira oozed out of Baraggan, drifting to Ulquiorra, before charging at him. Both Ulquiorra and Orihime disappeared, leaving after-images because of the speed. Orihime reappeared a few yards away from where they were standing, swaying slightly. Ulquiorra, on the other hand, was swiftly charging towards Baraggan, formulating a strategy. When he got within a few feet of the Espada's back, he noticed his body start to deteriorate. Ulquiorra started backpedaling, stopping a few yards away, also. Slowly, the aged and wrinkled skin that had been Ulquiorra's chest moments ago started to heal, to smooth out again and regain its age.

"Well, it's obvious I will not be able to get within a close range to destroy you..." Ulquiorra pointed out. Baraggan smirked at this, sending the Respira back his way.

"It is time to show you my own bala, I believe." Ulquiorra said, frowning, before he shot a bala. Rather than the traditional red, or even his special green bala, it was something entirely different. It was a dark purple, with black electricity coursing through it. It flew at the speed of a bala, but it was obvious it had the power of a normal Arrancar cero of at least Cero Oscuras level.

Baraggan's eyes widened slightly, as he moved to escape from the bala. Instead, the brunt of it slammed into his chest, sending him flying back, onto his stomach. He got up, slowly and shakily, turning to glare at Ulquiorra, the cracks now the dominating feature of his mask. "Is that all you've got, boy?" He asked with contempt. Ulquiorra shook his head.

"No. Now, I will show you the true power of despair I have been so ignorant of." Ulquiorra said. In the blink of an eye, he was in the air. Ulquiorra held out his hand, palm up. He raised his other hand, pressing the fingernail against first palm, drawing a line, pressing hard enough to draw blood. Slowly it dripped down. Ulquiorra raised his hand at Baraggan, something akin to a grimace on his face.

"This...is my Gran Ray Cero Oscuras." He said, as all of a sudden the air started to bend, it felt. The shadows hidden around the room, all seemed to be drawn to Ulquiorra's hand, some of them even physically taking flight to go to his hand, from there forming into a ball. A shrill screeching was heard, exactly like that of a bat's. Ulquiorra slowly turned his palm, so it would have been facing the ground had it not been aimed for Baraggan.

After the room was completely illuminated due to the purple light from the glowing ball in Ulquiorra's hand, the light itself from the moon started to go towards his hand, also, causing it to take on a purple color. In Ulquiorra's own hand, the beginnings of a Cero Oscuras. Ulquiorra brought them both in front of him, pushing the two balls together. They downsized to about the size of a marble, floating at Ulquiorra's fingertips.

Ulquiorra pointed his right hand at Baraggan. Rather than a large blast, like most, it was just a thin ray, no wider than Ulquiorra's arm. It shot at Baraggan, straight and true. The bat-like screeching became more prominent, as the ray flew forward. Baraggan raised his axe to defend himself, but the Cero just streaked through, the axe turning into a puddle of melted metal in a matter of seconds. It pierced Baraggan through the stomach, creating a hole four times the size of the actual cero.

The cero went through him completely, stopping when it hit the ground. That spot had turned to glass, due to the intensity of the cero acting on the sand beneath the floor, which had been all-but obliterated. Slowly but surely, the whole ground below them turned to glass, smoothing out. Baraggan's eyes widened, as he fell backwards.

Ulquiorra came down from the sky, standing next to the dying Arrancar. "How?" Baraggan asked.

"Simple. I have found the heart." He said, turning. He heard, as the ash from the deceased Second Espada's body scattered off the sand and flew off with the wind.

"What was that?" Orihime asked.

"A cero with enough strength to make magma appear as a block of ice." Ulquiorra said. Orihime shook her head.

"No, I mean what you said to him." Orihime pointed out. Ulquiorra straightened, a slight pink palor coming to his cheeks.

"I have found the heart...and it was you." He said, raising a hand to cup her cheek. He leaned down, hesitating. Orihime reached up, and getting impatient, pulled Ulquiorra down to her level, pressing her two pink lips against his own lower and upper black one. Ulquiorra was shocked, but eventually kissed her back.

"This is going to make Ishida terribly jealous." Ulquiorra pointed out against her lips. She lightly smacked him aside the head.

"You can't rub this in his face." She said. He nodded soberly, pulling away to stare at her. Suddenly, her eyes widened in realization.

"Did you just make a joke?" She asked. Ulquiorra's frown returned, although she could tell it was forced, and that he nearly wanted to smile.

"I claim to have no emotions. I never said I do not have a sense of humor." He chuckled, leaning down, and kissing her again.

END