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

[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.

[theschemer]

"A Philosopher's Stone is a magical artefact," Ienzo said, speaking up for the first time. He was the one in the room known to be an Alchemist, the class the Stone most benefited and had the most modern associations with. For him not to speak would look suspicious.

He had his arms positioned across himself, the elbow of one arm in the hand of the other, some might say defensively, but others who knew him better would be aware that it was simply how he stood. He looked at Integra, addressing her directly, since she'd asked the question, and ignored Hojo.

"It has heavy associations with the Alchemist Class," told her. "Alchemists use energy and matter-conversion to alter the forms of objects. It's a three-part process -- Understanding, Deconstruction, Reconstruction. Alchemy cannot create objects, only change them within their matter-type. Mineral cannot be converted, say, into animal, and vice-versa. You cannot get out more than you put in. This is the law of Equivalent Exchange."

He dropped his hands to his sides and gestured, face half-hidden by his hair.

"The law of Equivalent Exchange isn't so much a law," except where souls were concerned, but she didn't need to know that, "as a limitation," he raised a finger, quoting, "'In order to Create, something of equal value must be Destroyed.'"

Most who didn't study the art were unaware of it. It was a difficult class, one that required an exceptional amount of research into the composition of objects, the ability to detect this and then use the power of both the Planet and one's own Chakra to deconstruct and reconstruct it. Conventional magic was much easier and had a much wider variety of applications, especially where battle was concerned.

"The Philosopher's Stone is an object that allows an Alchemist to bypass this law by using the stone as the price paid for otherwise impossible transmutations. It can create something from nothing, it can alter matter from mineral to animal, it can increase the effects of regular transformations," he explained. "In short ... it is a power source."

[immoralmelody]

Kuja allowed Ienzo a dramatic pause.

The revelation wouldn't be surprising to some of those present, the scientists, the learned... but others obviously had never heard of such a thing. Ienzo probably hadn't needed to go into the full explanation, but who was Kuja to deny the boy a little dramatic flair?

"A power source," he repeated, in the silence left in the wake of the boy's words. "I daresay it has applications beyond Alchemy," he said, fixing his blue eyes on Hojo directly.

[thesilentstorm]

Lumi inclined his head at the boy's explanation of his Class, and the object's relation to it. That was interesting. In a world filled with nonsense termed 'magic', it seemed as though it had scientific applications, with sensible limitations.

The Philosopher's Stone was source of power... a battery. It allowed Alchemists to create something from nothing, an implication that suggested that whatever was in the stone was being used up, but was extremely potent.

He thought back to his research into his own subject -- Airships. Those before the War of the Magi had been powered by something that allowed them to move through Mist, the magical byproduct of Spira's strange life-cycle, without detriment. It interfered with everything else, but the Jagd-proofed ships were unique in their resilience.

Perhaps..? No.

He didn't speak. He'd tell Marluxia of this later.

[thatsit]

Ignis listened in mute fascination. Alchemy wasn't practiced within Lucis. There was no law against it, it had just never caught on as a class. Ignis doubted there were any alchemists within Insomnia, although perhaps the research division of the Glaive might have a use for it.

But such a thing as a Philosopher's stone sounded immensely powerful. It could revolutionise technology, and scientific advancement, could entirely change the means of production. How much more cost effective would production be when one could use an alchemical short cut and a particular stone?

If it could change matter from mineral to animal, what were the potential medical benefits? Could it be a way to heal every ailment, every wound that might befall a person?

Could it be used to extend life? To regenerate old flesh and make it strong and youthful once more?

No wonder it was valuable. No wonder Galbadia were willing to risk war in order to get it. If they obtained it, no enemy could stand against them. The rewards vastly outweighed the risks.

It could be just what Lucis required.

[lesstravelled]

Road tilted her head and watched the greasy Ivalician scientist in his white coat.

A philosopher's stone was on the loose somewhere in the world. That wasn't something the Noah clan needed to be concerned about, but it was information the Earl would find very interesting. Something like that, if word got out, would have every country in Spira scrabbling for it.

The Archadian Empire and Galbadia, Niflheim and Lucis, they'd only be the start. And of course with such a high profile Nif scientist in the room with two Lucian envoys when the news broke, both of those countries would be after it, whether they realised it or not.

She grinned, her eyes flicking to Ari.

This was going to get fun.

[doesthissmellofchloroform]

Hojo all but sneered at Kuja.

"To reduce something as alchemically significant as a Philosopher's Stone to a mere battery is to overlook the scientific ramifications of its existence!" he frothed. A power source indeed. A mage like him could have no idea of its true application. "The stone allows its user to disregard the basic underpinning tenets of the whole universe. The full extent of its scientific applications couldn't be explored in ten lifetimes!"

Which did not answer the most important question: "How did Aizen get his hands on such a thing? Are we sure it's even real?"

[immoralmelody]

Kuja held a hand up to Hojo, palm out, expression cold.

"Much of the world is at war," he said. "If any of the world's powers got their hands on that Stone, they would not be thinking of the Alchemical applications so much as the fact that it can be used to power superweapons that would give them the edge in any conflict."

He took a few steps, tail moving gracefully behind him, a fluffy ribbon of silver-white.

"War pushes scientific advancement forward far more effectively than a mere scientist's curiosity," he said, patiently. "Or were you creating Chimeras for the pet trade?" He cocked his head to one side.

He turned from him, not waiting for his answer.

"Aizen got his hands on it through research and leaps of imagination regarding the material. You know what he's like," he said, putting a hand on one hip. "He informed me that he had discovered a longstanding plan for Midgar -- he realised that Midgar's plate was a Transmutation Circle," he spoke with his back to Hojo. "And when the time was right he went in to retrieve it, and at great personal risk, given the state the city was left in thanks to the instability of the reactors..." Bancouri hardware, of course.

He spun on his heel, looking at him again, though only through the corner of his eye.

"And it is most certainly real," Kuja told him. "The Clan's foremost Alchemist was on-site to verify the stone's authenticity," he raised a hand to indicate Ienzo.

[doesthissmellofchloroform]

Hojo inhaled sharply through his nose.

Foremost alchemist.

The clan's foremost alchemist.

"That spit of a child? What could he possibly know?"

Midgar--? No. Hojo had worked in Midgar for years. There was no possible way that plate could have been a transmutation circle and Hojo had never spotted it. The notion was preposterous. That someone would be able to install an alchemical array under their feet, over most of the city's heads, and Hojo wouldn't have realised?

No.

Had Shinra managed to forge one, then? The reactors weren't unstable, Hojo knew that very well. Those reactors didn't explode of their own accord; they had to be attacked.

Had that been what Aizen had done? Destroyed Midgar to cover his tracks?

L had Shinra's files. Hojo would have to go through them later. There must be something about how they'd obtained a stone in there.

So Aizen was a common thief, and had set back years of scientific advancement in order to hide his actions from the world.

[joinmyreunion]

Kadaj felt his patience wearing away with every word out of Hojo's mouth.

"Shut up," he snapped, glaring at Hojo. Ienzo was an alchemist, and a Ryoka. Kadaj had hung around enough Ryoka to know they embodied their elements and their classes more completely than anyone born on Spira. If Ienzo was half the Alchemist that Saix was a berkserker, if he was even a quarter the Alchemist that Even was an ice elemental, then Kadaj was going to trust his opinion. Especially when the alternative opinion was Hojo's.

He turned his attention back to Kuja. "Galbadia would have to know about the stone to take the risk, are we sure that's their reason?"

Because that presented the rather worrying question of how they'd found out.

[immoralmelody]

"Indeed," he said.

He turned to Nel, hiding there, like a good little subordinate should. She was the support act, not the main feature, but her input would prove valuable to the outcome of this tale.

"Neliel visited him in D-District," he said. "If you would..?"