Nelliel Tu Odelschwank!

"...wow..." Nel breathed, flexing her hands, and looking up at Ichigo, who stared, blushing slightly.

"...is that actually you, Nel?" Ichigo asked, a bit nervous, able to feel her spiritual pressure. It was immense. Slightly stronger than Grimmjow's had been.

Instead of answering right away, she reached for her Zanpakuto, and drew it partly from the scabbard, making everyone stiffen, but she didn't show any hostile intent. Instead, she stared at the metal of her blade, taking in her own reflection. She then fully resheathed her weapon, and looked up at Ichigo with a bright grin.

"Yeah... To be more specific... I am Espada Tres, Nelliel Tu Odelschwank," Nel replied, making Ichigo and the others nervous.

"You... Worked for Aizen?" Lisa asked with narrowed eyes.

"...I was indeed a soldier of Aizen... Which brings me to my question... Why is it you are fighting him?" she inquired, suddenly seeming serious.

"...he caused us a lot of trouble," Ichigo replied. "And he is out to start some kind of war with Soul Society. My friends and I are essentially being dragged into it," he added, before explaining the convoluted plot Aizen had initiated to get the Hogyoku, and his essential declaration of war.

"There's more," Orihime cut in. "Matsumoto and Hitsuguya had a meeting with Yamamoto via a sort of television screen, and I was allowed to attend... Aizen wants to sacrifice Karakura Town and use the souls within it to form some kind of key that will allow him to kill the Soul Society's royal family, or something along those lines, which would greatly destabilize all three of our worlds beyond repair..."

"...I see," Nelliel replied, before relaxing. "In that case, I suppose that, as much as I respect him, we need to put a stop to him. Dodonchaka, Pesche, stand down," she ordered, and Ichigo turned to see that they had been subtly reaching for, and pulling out their weapons... He chose not to comment on where they had been keeping said weapons, especially Pesche's.

"...really, you're just going to side with us like that?" he asked, and Nelliel nodded solemnly.

"Lady Nel was always a pacifist," Dodonchaka explained. "She respected and served Aizen because, when he became King of Hueco Mundo, he brought an unprecedented degree of peace there among the more sentient Hollows..."

"When she was injured, we decided against trying to restore her memories and power," Pesche confessed. "To return to it would mean a return to fighting for Aizen. We thought we were better off in exile..."

"Makes some sense, but that wasn't your decision to make," Rukia lectured them. Nel nodded in agreement.

"Yes... But I'm grateful you both never left my side," she told her two loyal Fraccions.

"So... I guess you're an ally now..." Ichigo nodded. "Good to have you on board... Out of curiosity, how did you end up in a lesser state to begin with?"