You wanna get ahead?

[breaksthecuties]

Ariane Emory, Ari to those that knew her well, was a busy woman. When the call had come that Khamja were holding a meeting she nearly ignored it. She didn't attend Khamja's concerns often; they were a sideline, a way to keep an ear to the ground for rumblings in the distance. When you ran such a high profile laboratory complex as Reseune, it helped to know what was going on in the outside world. The shifts in politics might not impact science, but they could impact things like funding, or where those holding the purse strings wanted you to direct your attention.

The actual day of the meeting, however, had fallen into a gap in her schedule. It was a convenient gap, all the more convenient because of what she expected the meeting would be about. Khamja liked to keep its fingers in multiple pies, and the ongoing tension between Niflheim and Lucis was the bigger concern within Niflheim, but whisperings of the outbreak of war on the lowerworld of Spira had reached even there.

Galbadia had taken a Gotei Captain hostage on false charges, and said Gotei Captain happened to be one of the two resident Captains in Archades. One was the lead scientist at Draklor, the other was supposedly a kindly, benevolent figure that had influence in Archadian upper echelons. Ari had her doubts about the kindly and benevolent part; no one rose to that sort of position by being nice, but it was the common rhetoric.

She'd taken the journey time to educate herself on the political situation, and the individuals involved. Galbadia and the Archadian Empire had tense relations. Politically speaking, they'd been eyeballing each other for some time. Galbadia's military were highly effective. If they weren't they'd be an Archadian territory by now. Their remit thus far seemed to have been defensive, but now they'd taken an action that was distinctly offensive.

And curious. Arresting someone whose role lent them diplomatic immunity and a pass to cross borders in the pursuit of their duty was treacherous ground to walk. There had to be some reason other than mere trespass. Possibly, they believed he'd been spying, but that seemed like very dangerous accusations to make right now.

There were people in Khamja whose entire reason for existing was the sourcing of information that couldn't be obtained by other means. That was why Ari had gone to the effort of attending. It was likely Khamja knew more about what was taking place than any single given side of the affair right now.

Her two personal azi accompanied her. She rarely went anywhere without them. They were bodyguards, but they were also companions; people she could trust to listen and retain information without spilling it to undesirable ears. There had been no reason not to bring them.

Ari had been to Khamja's Desert Palace only once before, some years ago. It had been a brief visit for the purposes of her induction into Khamja's ranks. Still, some memories sparked along the way as they moved from the airship port to the main entrance. She remembered the main entrance, and it, it seemed, remembered her, opening to a touch of a glyph. It was a magical defence system. Ari couldn't say she approved. She much preferred more high tech methods of protecting information. Passwords and retina scans were less prone to failure over the course of time.

Though this would have been put in place by Kuja, who she remembered was rather proud of his ability as a mage. Perhaps he was confident the wards would last, or perhaps he carefully reapplied them on a regular basis. It was a complicated bit of magic, she had to grant him that.

The first entrance took them into a corridor, and beyond that lay another entrance. Catlin and Florian were probably working the Room in their heads already; a bottleneck like this would have them on guard. The next entrance opened out into a much larger hall, expensively decorated and, Ari had to admit, a little grander than she remembered.

The place also thronged with the reiatsu of people. It certainly hadn't been this well occupied the last time she'd been here.

Comments

[immoralmelody]

Kuja had always intended to arrive at the meeting late.

It was the done thing. It wouldn't, however, do to keep him waiting. Had he arrived to find they were awaiting the arrival of a straggler it would have caused tension, an uncomfortable period where the host must wait to begin proceedings. If the host arrived last... then all was well.

Or that would have been the case.

Kuja felt the flare and flash of Marluxia's reiatsu from down the corridor. It was a signature he knew. He associated it with the man's grace and power, and the deft if ... unconventional way he handled the spells of Spira so alien to his hands. If he'd been closer, he knew he'd have smelled the ghost of a rose.

That was the only signature that lit up, so it wasn't, Kuja surmised, a fight. There had been no retaliation. A warning given, and a warning heeded. Khamja members could be volatile when gathered en masse. The needless violence of a brawl offended him, but if Marluxia had stepped in then it was possible that he wouldn't walk in to a warzone.

He entered the ballroom and looked around, hand on one hip.

"Do try to resist starting the show before the curtain rises," he said.

[joinmyreunion]

Kuja's entry into the room seemed to put a blanket over the tension that had been building. With him present someone would have to try to start a scrap, and would get shot down before they got anywhere with it.

His eyes shifted to Marluxia after Kuja spoke. After a flashy display of power he'd retreated to Lumi's side, and it had been a little scary just how controlled he was. The burst of reiatsu hadn't lasted long enough to steal breath or knock people to the floor, but it had been enough to demonstrate that Marluxia wasn't to be messed with.

"Bit late for that," he said, in an audible undertone, his gaze returning to Kuja, and then moving on to Bellatrix, who was backing away with her proverbial tail between her legs. Kuja had missed it. He knew, obviously, because there was no way Marluxia's flash of his reiatsu had slipped Kuja's attention, but he'd missed what exactly Marluxia had done. Kadaj might have to enlighten him later.

He'd have to tell Apache about it, too. It'd make her day.

[cruciohappy]

When Kuja entered the room Bellatrix eyed him, and then took a small, unconscious step back, out of the way. She wasn't ashamed, she didn't feel shame, she wasn't cowed by the actions of that dirty halfbreed.

She just didn't want to be the focus of attention any more.

She glowered at the pink haired Selkie. When they got out of here she might have to teach him a sharp, hard lesson. Just so long as he was separated from that white haired freak.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia smiled graciously at Kuja when he entered. Of course he'd noticed, Marluxia hadn't exactly been subtle. He'd made sure to push his reiatsu more than the mere act of creating Graceful Dahlia in itself required. Of course it had been felt beyond this room.

It had achieved the desired effect, too. The Jyllandi woman was glaring at him like a scrappy dog that didn't know when to quit, but that was, at least for now, held on a leash.

Kadaj's words made the smile on his face tick up into a smirk. "There won't be any further disturbances," he said, addressing Kuja, in response to Kadaj. The Jyllandi woman would have to be madder than everyone believed to try it.

[thesilentstorm]

In any other situation, Lumi might have let out what passed, from him, as a laugh at Kadaj's comment.

He didn't. Instead, he kept his silence, watching Kuja enter and immediately command the room. He'd barely said anything, but Kuja was the sort of person who didn't really need to. He was used to being in charge. Somehow, he made it into an art form.

[theheirapparent]

Arc had been, in a way, rather glad that Bellatrix had acted out as she had, though surprised she'd pick a fight with one of those two. Even her, arrogant as she was, must have heard about their reputation.

Regardless, the little display from Marluxia, which was fascinating in and of itself, had done wonders for taking the attention off him and his new inclusion in the clan.

He still glanced over at L, wondering if he'd dropped the subject, or whether he'd raise it with Kuja during the meeting.

[catlinandflorian]

Catlin stood attentively at Ari's side, not reacting to the newcomer's entrance more than to look him over and ascertain how many weapons, if any, he was likely to have on him.

Florian, however, took on an expression of surprise, only slight, barely there, at the man's appearance. The light hair wasn't so strange, he'd seen enough Selkies in the moments since their arrival to know that wasn't unusual, but the tail..?

It was long, probably almost as long as the man was tall, and white furred, to match his hair. He tried not to stare.

[immoralmelody]

Kuja did not miss Kadaj's little comment, but he didn't respond with anything more than a smile and a look. He wasn't wrong, after all. Impertinent, as ever, but not wrong.

"Good," he said, addressing Marluxia's words, but not asking about the reason for the one prior to his arrival. Bellatrix, that hateful woman, looked both cowed and angry. She was probably the reason for the flash. He was almost surprised she wasn't dead.

He looked around at everybody, taking note of the faces. A handful of residents, mostly Jyllandi visitors and a small number of underlings. He could insist they waited outside, but he knew that Ariane Emory had good enough control over hers that they would not dare speak out of turn. Nel was there on his invitation. He fixed Alucard with a brief look. He could be a problem, but asking him to leave before he'd made himself to be one would only cause more issues, and the risk of insulting Sir Integra was too great to make it worth the press.

No matter.

Act One had been a disaster for Aizen. The follow up... well, it would depend on the outcome of the meeting and what Nel had managed to glean from his incarceration.

"It looks like this is everybody," the full cast. "Let us begin."

[breaksthecuties]

Ari settled, waiting for Kuja to begin. Obviously the main concern of the meeting was what had happened with Captain Aizen, but there were so many branches that came off that subject. It would be telling which avenue was explored first, and which was of greater concern to whom.

Azen's allies would no doubt be more concerned with what was happening to him. Others, like herself, had greater investment in what it meant for the political situation on Ivalice, how Khamja intended to benefit, and how Jylland might benefit.

She positioned herself near the new member, Aizen's son. It gave her a reasonable view of the rest of the group, as well as Kuja.

[lawlietschiffer]

L put his thumb to his mouth and worried at the skin with his teeth. Nel was standing near to the door, alert and attentive, and waiting to be called on.

It hadn't taken much to set her up as Aizen's girlfriend, and forge some credentials to that effect. It was the only way to get someone in to see Aizen and try and find out what he was really being questioned over.

He hoped she'd come away with some useful information.

Even L didn't known the full contents of the meeting's agenda, although he could estimate what some of the key topics would be. Aizen's incarceration, and how and why he'd come to be incarcerated.

He awaited the finger pointing, and wished he had been responsible.

[thatsit]

Once the meeting was over, Ignis and Gladio would need to talk about what they'd seen. Marluxia had done something that shouldn't be possible.

It might require a little more, careful, investigation. If that sort of ability was present on Ivalice it could be potentially useful, or potentially very, very dangerous depending upon the hands it fell into.

He shelved that line of thought for now, however and stood a little straighter, listening to Kuja. His command of the room was quite impressive. His presence was sufficient to make whatever squabble may have been brewing lapse into silence.

He was also quite an unusual looking individual. He certainly wasn't afraid to appear effeminate, and yet that did nothing to diminish his power to command.

He was also a little theatrical. Ignis was aware this did not give him place to criticise.

[immoralmelody]

"As you all know, or should all know, this meeting has been called to address the fact that Sōsuke Aizen, Captain of the Fifth Division of the Gotei 13, and member of Clan Khamja, has been arrested by the Galbadian government and is currently being held in their high security anti-magic prison, D-District."

He looked around at the faces of the gathered, gauging their reactions. Some knew, some didn't. Some knew more than others. At the very least, they were all aware that a meeting had been arranged for members to discuss the imprisonment of one of their number. Whether they knew precisely who is was, and exactly what that could mean, depended heavily on who they'd been talking to and what they knew of Ivalician politics.

He watched the reactions of those who knew what D-District was, and those that didn't, but didn't like the sound of 'anti-magic prison'.

"For those that don't know," his eyes slid over a few of the Jyllandis in the room. "Members of the Gotei 13, a group tasked with eradicating Hollows," he clarified, "Akuma, or Daemons, are given diplomatic immunity, allowing them to cross borders in pursuit of their work, even in tense political climates. As such, Aizen should not have been apprehended, even if he happened to be in Galbadia, though reports suggest he was taken elsewhere."

[lawlietschiffer]

L chewed at the end of his thumb while Kuja spoke. The introduction Kuja was giving was designed to catch the likes of the Noah up to speed. He doubted Ari Emory would have come without educating herself first; she was never one to trust someone else's filters on the information she was presented.

Integra too, although she knew what the Gotei 13 did, she was too deeply entrenched in an off again on again relationship with the Black Order not to be aware of the similar role played by the Gotei Divisions might need certain intricacies elaborated upon.

The Gotei Divisions were diplomatically immune, of course. Hollows didn't care for borders, and squad members were permitted to cross them in the action of their duties. If a squad of Shinigami from Division Five was nearer to a Hollow acting in Galbadia than one of the country's own Shinigami, they were expected to cross the border to deal with it. Rather that than leave innocent lives at risk for the sake of national borders.

Similarly, there was nowhere within their own countries that a Shinigami wasn't permitted to go. Every town and village, no matter how insulated against visitors, made an exception for the Gotei squads.

But in exchange, the Gotei divisions stayed out of regional politics. It would be too easy for a division with political leanings to spy on their enemies, and if the Gotei divisions around Ivalice couldn't act as a cohesive whole, focused on their sole task of eradicating Hollows, then it risked fracturing the entire organisation.

"Gotei members are also supposed to be politically neutral," he said, on the end of Kuja's explanation. "Captain Aizen, however, is a known supporter of the Empire and their interests." Which would make his venturing near Galbadia risky, from a Galbadian perspective.

[joinmyreunion]

Kadaj folded his arms and listened. Gotei members weren't supposed to have political affiliations, L was right, and Aizen wasn't exactly quiet about his support for the Empire. He was a high profile Archadian figure even if he wasn't politically involved per se.

Except that he was politically involved, he just did it using Khamja as a cloak.

"Kimblee's in D District," Kadaj muttered, eyeing L with a sideways glance. D District was where Galbadia threw you if they wanted to keep you in a big deep hole where you could be forgotten about. Their worst and most dangerous were kept there. "They must think Aizen's a bit more dangerous than your average political prisoner to keep him there."

And they'd be right, but the thing was, Aizen didn't put out a public appearance of being a dangerous lunatic. He was a dangerous lunatic, and a scheming, conniving bastard with too much power and not enough morals, like everybody else in Khamja, but Galbadia shouldn't know that.

[shoottokill]

Gin looked at L, his movements airy, expression unreadable.

"Aizen's outwardly nonpartisan," he pointed out, sweeping a hand with a limp-wristed movment as he did, palm out. "Unless ya count jus' bein' an Archadian toff as explicit Imperial support."

They all knew that Aizen wasn't neutral when it came to his political views. He was an upper-class Archadian man from a long line of upper-class Archadian men. He lived in the most exclusive part of the Empire's capital and he made no secret of it. He didn't, however, sit on any councils, attend any political meetings, or have any rank or clout within the Empire proper. His sister filled that role for the Aizen family.

"To everybody outside the Clan, Aizen's kind and fair, a model Captain, and neutral on the affairs of the Empire," his fixed smile slid off to reveal a look of mild confusion. "There aren't many people who'd seek to discredit Aizen, but for Galbadia to suddenly capture him with no preamble..."

[immoralmelody]

"Hence the meeting," Kuja said, a smile on his lips, addressing the three to have spoken so far. "Aizen is indeed officially neutral and even if he had shown political leanings in places other than behind the scenes, Galbadia still have no right or real reason to capture him. A foolish move on their part... So,"

So. So that meant there was more to it. That meant that they were willing to risk a scandal and a potential war to keep him.

"I daresay they are holding him in D-District for two reasons. The first... positive though his reputation is, he is still a Gotei 13 Captain. There are few as powerful as those who rise to that position. Should they suspect him of wrongdoing, for whatever reason, securing him in a prison that effectively nullifies the Chakra of all within the structure is, of course, the intelligent course of action. A Captain could neutralise a room full of average soldiers with their spiritual pressure alone."

Any roomful of people, though probably not the one they were standing in. Chakra offset the effects of Chakra, and should a Captain release their control, there would undoubtedly be a handful of people still standing at a Khamja meeting, but likely not anywhere else.

"Secondly... it is deep in Galbadian territory. Near impossible to reach."

[breaksthecuties]

Ari glanced around the room. Aizen's son was staying quiet, likely a wise decision right now. As the newest member in the room he'd be better placed listening and paying attention than speaking up.

So far it seemed Aizen counted two allies among their number, and one detractor, or at least, two people speaking up in his favour and one that seemed to think Galbadia's actions weren't out of nowhere.

But the young Selkie was right. In Aizen's position he could hardly stage a violent breakout, and under false charges with such little basis he'd be hard pressed to do anything but sit and wait it out or risk his public reputation. That made keeping him in a high security prison in the depths of the country overkill. It also meant that even if Aizen could escape, he wasn't likely to. It was rather clever of whoever had decided to capture him.

It also meant they were rather well informed. There were easier ways to declare war, and less charged places to hold a supposed political prisoner, so....

"So what do the Galbadians actually want with him, and why does it concern us?" she asked. They hadn't been dragged down into a meeting on Ivalice because a member of Khamja was in trouble. Something was afoot that Khamja had their grubby little fingers in. Khamja was more than willing to let individual members rot in prison so long as they weren't likely to surrender the names of shadow members.

Take the aforementioned Kimblee, for example.

[declaregamuza]

Nel bit the inside of her lip, but stayed resolutely still against the wall, listening as the remaining members of Khamja discussed whether Aizen had been a very naughty boy.

Near impossible to reach. Kuja wasn't kidding. The only way to get to D District prison was by going through most of Galbadia's army. The Arrancar could probably do it, so long as they didn't run into too many of the state alchemists along the way, but getting in and getting out were two different tasks. And the prison was taking its toll even if Aizen tried to pretend it wasn't. The notion of a forceful rescue was a last resort.

But Galbadia wouldn't be able to excuse keeping him for much longer anyway, not on the charges they'd publicised. They needed to come up with something else and fast to keep him there longer or the political pressure would be too great.

The discussion wasn't overtly for or against Aizen, of course. Nel expected Gin to speak nominally in Aizen's favour, and it was no surprise that L showed no sympathy for his position. They hadn't got on to the subject of what they were going to do yet, but Nel got the distinct impression the Jyllandi woman with the bodyguards wouldn't be opposed to leaving Aizen where he was.

Nel would have to be careful not to let her feelings get the better of her if anyone suggested that. She'd seen him, in that prison. She'd take the Arrancar herself to get him out if it was the only way, but she couldn't say anything to that effect to this lot. She was just an underling here. Her opinion wasn't wanted unless they asked.

[theschemer]

Ienzo had a feeling he knew what they wanted with him.

Aizen's potential political affiliation was likely to be widely considered the reason for his capture, but there had been little said on the media about it, other than speculation. Neither the Galbadian authorities nor those of the Archadian Empire had made any official statements, except that a Captain of the Gotei 13 was being held in a country outside of his jurisdiction. That it was due to his political leanings was the obvious conclusion, the one everybody would draw, but not the one he'd figure.

He suspected that somebody within Clan Khamja had leaked that Aizen had access to a Philosopher's Stone. He'd thought it since he'd found out that it was Galbadia that held him. If it was his political opinions, any number of countries could have grabbed him. He travelled all over as a researcher as much as anything else, he was known for his appreciation for books and had been to any number of places to do his reading, many of these enemies of his home country. Rozarria, Bancour, Dalmasca, Lionel... any of them could have grabbed him.

Galbadia were the only country in Spira, Purvamae or Lowerworld, that had specialist military personnel of the Alchemist Class. Aizen had a supposedly mythological object held in high regard by that Class and only that Class. The stone, once thought to be little more than fanciful tales, was said to allow Alchemists to bypass the law of Equivalent Exchange. That was the only connection Aizen could have possibly had to Galbadia, or why they wanted him, and the number of people who knew he had one were extremely low.

If that was the reason, Khamja had a traitor in their midst, though that was like trying to find a needle in a pile of needles.

[immoralmelody]

Kuja turned to Ariane.

Her bodyguards hadn't moved. They were certainly well-trained little extras, weren't they? They made him think of Lumi, Marluxia's partner. Quiet, too-perfect, too observant.

"Ah," he said, smiling. "A fact not widely known, even within Clan Khamja, is that Aizen had recently come into the ownership of a very valuable artefact -- a Philosopher's Stone."

He glanced at Ienzo. He was one of two Alchemists in the room, and he knew what Aizen had. He was a smart boy, others had said. Crafty, intelligent, very likely to have figured out the connection between Aizen and a country with Military Alchemists.

His eyes touched upon Professor Hojo, too. He too practiced that art, though he doubted he was as proficient as Ienzo. The boy didn't even need a circle.

[hagsfiend]

Kreeth's eyes went wide.

A ... Philosopher's Stone? She'd needed to mentally translate that, but she knew to what that referred. It was a mythical object, something that made it so that Alchemy, and Alkahestry, a pursuit she herself was adept in, didn't need to obey the rules. How ..? How had Aizen managed to get that?

She'd kill him herself to get her claws on that.

"What does Galb--"

[theheirapparent]

"What?!"

[doesthissmellofchloroform]

A philosopher's stone.

Such a thing was myth. The means of production lost to the annals of history. No one had managed to recreate one, though many had tried. Some had even come close. The Shinra electric company had wanted to rediscover the secrets. It would have rendered their reliance on mako null.

The military applications appealed to them too, of course, but the scientific applications.... Hojo had been sold down the proverbial river for crafting chimaera. They were costly to produce but the research was invaluable.

A philosopher's stone would make the production so much easier, and the end results so much more effective. No more failures, no more trial and error....

Aizen had one, did he?

Hojo sneered at the boy's outburst. There were a lot of questions to be asked, and 'what' was only the beginning. "What use is something like that to Aizen? The man's not even an alchemist!" He looked directly at Kuja. "You said he came into ownership of it. How?"

[joinmyreunion]

Kadaj's gaze flicked to Arc.

Midgar. The Arrancar had gone to Midgar, and come back, and Grimmjow and Yylfordt and Nel and the rest hadn't talked about what they'd done there. Kadaj hadn't been around in the immediate aftermath, but it hadn't been hard to put the pieces of that puzzle together.

The Arrancar went off on a mission. Midgar fell. Kadaj had left the Palace and entered a world that was reeling from the news, and paralysed by fear. Bancour's government had been crippled.

When he'd come back, Tayuya had been none the wiser about what the Arrancar had been up to that day, but the timing had been very coincidental.

And Grimmjow had never talked about it.

He glanced across at Nel. She'd been there too.

[hellsingsforyou]

Integra drew out a cigar but didn't light it yet. She wanted one. Standing around without one listening to people talk was intensely boring. She was half surprised that Alucard wasn't acting up, but then, he was probably having fun watching people he considered little more than ants try and be sneaky.

"What's a philosopher's stone," she asked, "and why is it so valuable? For those of us that don't know." The mention of it seemed to have made some ears prick up, but it wasn't something in Integra's field of expertise.

She wasn't afraid to admit ignorance. If they were being presented with facts then they needed to be presented with all of them. Otherwise they might be led to some inaccurate conclusions.