While tyrants close the doors.

[theedgeofreason]

The past few weeks had, for Aizen at least, been somewhat trying.

The publicity he had been expected to deal with following the fall of Midgar had been an inevitable chore. Due to his position in the Gotei 13, pledges had to be made to help Bancour during its time of crisis. Wholesale destruction could quite easily breed scores of Hollows and it was Aizen's sworn duty, and that of his men, to eradicate them whenever they reared their bone-masked heads. Bancour was far, far out of his jurisdiction that was true, but there was no harm in proving that the Gotei 13 recognised no borders when it came to its collective dedication to its work. At the same time, he had been obligated to sit in on meetings with Archadian political giants concerning the delicate state of peace in the aftermath. To nobody's great surprise, and certainly not to Aizen's, The Archadian Empire had been the first to come under suspicion. Accusations, both the plausible and the far-fetched, had come thick and fast in the wake of the collapse. Even weeks after the incident some tempers were still running high, but nothing could be proved until Midgar was safe to examine.

Aizen's privileged position gave him access to Midgar's status reports and, while Bancouri officials had lobbied to keep them out of Archadian hands, Aizen's insistence that he have them when he was to be sending in his own men in to a potential Necrohol to aid Captain Komamura's already thinly stretched forces eventually resulted in the necessary papers crossing his desk. That all lands in the vicinity of the inner-city were considered too heavily poisoned by high concentrations of leaked Mako was certainly encouraging.

All in all, it had been an interesting change from the curious state of limbo that had reigned ever since Nabudis had accidentally been reduced to a blasted ruin and the Greenlands around it, now known as the Deadlands, to a smoking wasteland. Even so, dealing with manpower allocation and sitting on a council made of members trying by turns to and not to affix the word 'war' to the fore of it had taken their toll. After many packed days and what felt like even more sleepless nights, Aizen had been obvious about growing weary of it all and openly yielded to exhaustion. At the first opportunity, he had taken a few days leave and bid his Lieutenant deal with his duties in his stead. With no rest for the wicked, a phrase that had turned out to be truer than he had thought possible, Aizen clandestinely returned to the Desert Palace of Clan Khamja to deal with unfinished matters there.

The atmosphere in the Palace was much as it had been when he had left. Some things remained unchanged others ... well, they were quite different. Zexion, the Ryoka Alchemist, had made a full recovery where his exhaustion was concerned, but Aizen had been informed that the boy had not said a single word since waking and had spent most of his time holed up in his quarters. He had dealt with very few matters across phonelines, but he had sent word to ensure that Zexion was not to be informed of the new faces on the side of their enemies ahead of his return. He had made it clear that any Arrancar found breaking this order would find themselves dealing with the consequences. Nnoitra had, from what he had been told, kept himself well out of the way. Aizen was glad of this -- it minimised the chances of one of his more unruly Arrancar coming face to face with the subordinates of the man he had helped murder. Grimmjow and Neliel were doing as well as could be expected, her more than him. Luppi, to nobody's great surprise, was slow to recover from the injuries he had sustained at the hands of the Ryoka Berserker. He was considered to be out of danger, but he was still currently immobile and his moments of conscious lucidity were few and brief.

What had really nettled Aizen upon his return were whispers, whispers all too soon confirmed, that another of his Arrancar had struck out at a full-member of the Clan. He would have expected such of the rash, hot-headed members of his mismatched band of underlings, people like Nnoitra, who had already proved he could, Grimmjow who had as well, the Fracción Apache who was, as far as he was concerned, only biding her time. Even Szayel, albeit in a fashion less ... traditional than those, was not above suspicion. The name he had been given was a surprise to him. It shouldn't have been, especially not given past behaviour or the current state of affairs, but it had nonetheless given him pause.

Ulquiorra had attacked L and, from what he had been told, the preceding argument had taken place entirely in Old Rozarrian -- a language none of the witnesses could profess to speak. L had recovered, for a given value of recovery, and was up and about contrary to recommendation. He maintained that the altercation was one that concerned only blood, not the Clan, and Aizen had not been brought before Illua to answer for the crimes of his subordinate. In the end, Aizen only found himself disappointed that Ulquiorra had shown mercy. He, like Nnoitra, had been unsurprisingly absent following the incident.

Aizen resolved to speak to him on the matter, but it would have to wait until more pressing affairs had been attended to. The meeting, the debriefing put off following the mission itself, was still to be conducted. All of his Arrancar were expected to attend, even those in disgrace, though Luppi was to be the notable exception. L would undoubtedly be there regardless of the inevitable friction between him and his nephew, the presence of Zexion was assured and Gin Ichimaru had said, with his characteristic smile, that he wouldn't miss it for the world. He had even gone so far as to suggest that Marluxia, one of Khamja's older Ryoka recruits, also be present. The unknowns allied with the Berserker could easily be Ryoka, Gin had pointed out. Some of the files L had recovered from Midgar had certainly suggested such. With Zexion having been deliberately kept in the dark and Marluxia not yet up to date with the situation, they were unlikely to both be able to stifle reactions as to conceal a truth, should they attempt to do so. There was wisdom in the suggestion, and so Aizen had consented to it.

With the attendees decided, orders in the guise of invites had been sent out.

Comments

[shoottokill]

Gin enjoyed the show with a smile on his face.

He knew the faces of all three, and their names, but he had only really seen Saix fight and, even then, it was in most unusual circumstances. Seeing it like this was somewhat strange. He knew that he was more than capable of fighting, oh he'd heard the accounts, but to see it, when he'd only really seen him calm and collected in the Sandsea before was somewhat unusual. The lack of sound took away a lot of what could be interesting information, but it gave Gin a sense of their battle abilities, if nothing else.

Axel, should Gin ever have need to face him in combat, would need to be put down quickly. Saix was fast, but he was faster. The girl, should she be there, would be dealt with first.

The fun part for Gin came when the show was over.

Zexion responded to the sight of Axel with unconcealed horror, whereas Marluxia was more calm about it all. While both showed surprise when they saw him initially, Zexion's reaction was more ... serious. He knew full well that Zexion had not been with the group when Axel joined it, so that made a lot of sense, but the fact that Marluxia reacted made it very clear to Gin that they were both unaware of his presence on Spira at all. A familiar face shouldn't draw that kind of response unless neither expected to see it at all and the way Zexion spoke, it sounded like he thought the man was supposed to be dead.

Interesting.

The severity of Zexion's reaction suggested to Gin that the two had some sort of enmity. Marluxia took it in his stride, whereas Zexion looked rather like he was the last person he wanted to see sharing the planet with him. The two had a history, and it wasn't a pleasant one, it seemed. Zexion, Gin knew, got out of The Order in the nick of time.

Marluxia, unlike Zexion, seemed surprised at the fact that Saix was able to pull a weapon from nowhere. It was a technique that Arrancar who had faced Ryoka had mentioned before, but Gin had not had the good fortune to witness. That Marluxia hadn't expected it meant that the ability to do so had been learned by the other group from scratch -- something that also explained why Axel's weapons were more of a more traditional type -- and it almost certainly wasn't something that the Ryoka had brought with them pre-learned. Zexion, apparently, hadn't seen fit to teach Marluxia that particular secret since coming to Clan Khamja, either.

Neither, at least, denied knowledge of him. Both knew what he was capable of, for neither seemed moved by his command of the Fire Element. That, at least, was something he had before arriving on Spira.

[lawlietschiffer]

L hadn't reacted as Ulquiorra had removed his own eye, but he hadn't watched either. The sound had been enough, but Ulquiorra was an Arrancar, and high-speed regeneration had been marked among his abilities, and L refused to give Aizen the satisfaction of watching him get uncomfortable over Ulquiorra mutilating himself further than he had already been.

He kept the same quiet thoughtfulness during Ulquiorra's show of his memory. Ulquiorra had plainly dismissed the Berserker as no threat to himself, noting only when he used an interesting ability. The other Ryoka had plainly caught much more of his attention.

L felt a pang as he noticed that Ulquiorra's fighting style was still too stiff. He'd always been too stiff. L had tried to get him to loosen up, but it had never taken.

He noticed the mako glow to the man's eyes, and bit his thumb, thoughtfully. Shinra definitely had their hands on him, but he'd escaped them. Where had he been in the intervening time?

Perhaps the girl was the answer to that one. L suspected he knew who she was, too, although the information on her was old, outdated. Shinra had effectively lost interest in her when Hojo had left the company. The last thing L had thus far found on her stated Shinra believed her to still be in Midgar.

If Axel had stayed in Midgar, however, not only would he have been found, but it wouldn't explain how he'd contacted the berserker.

There was a gap. It bothered L.

But Zexion's reaction confirmed that Axel had not gone to the rest of the Order at least prior to Zexion's own departure, and if Zexion's reaction was anything to go by, Axel's presence in the order could create conflict. Marluxia almost seemed to enjoy the fact that Axel was there; he certainly didn't react with the horror of Zexion, and seemed calmly self assured about the whole thing.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia quirked one eyebrow very slightly at Aizen's response. Axel had come to Aizen's attention before Marluxia named him, then. That was... interesting.

"He and Saix are old allies," Marluxia elaborated. "Unfortunately for Saix, Axel is a man afflicted with chronic backstabbing disorder." He paused, and looked over towards Zexion, who knew all too well just how severe Axel's condition could be.

As did Vexen, who was in a relationship with Saix. That was bound to make for interesting pillowtalk.

"So it's something of a surprise to see the two of them working together again. Axel has never had an ally he's failed to turn on," Marluxia smirked, faintly, "including Saix."

And Saix was not the type who allowed bygones to be bygones.

Interesting things were happening with the Order's members. With a little luck, Saix and Axel would destroy them from the inside out, again, or Xigbar and the others would destroy them first.

Both options held appeal.

[theedgeofreason]

Ah, that was interesting. Given Zexion's hasty departure and the undisclosed circumstances surrounding it, together Marluxia's words, it would seem that The Order suffered a similar lack of cohesion to Clan Khamja. Whoever they were, they all had histories with each other and that didn't appear to be positive in every case. This Axel could prove to be the crowbar that would prise The Order apart, permanently.

"So the Berserker is called Saix," Aizen said, and not as a question. Grimmjow finally had a name to put to the face. How nice for him. "Whatever their background, they seem to be working together well enough for the moment and they are clearly powerful," though the girl certainly played her part in that, he thought, not letting a frown touch his face. It had been her that had turned the tide of that battle.

He looked back at Marluxia, choosing to address him rather than Zexion. "Is that the full extent of their abilities?"

[theschemer]

Zexion listened to them talk past a fuzz of disbelief.

Axel was a traitor, but so was Marluxia. What had first appeared to be a quiet would-be coup on Marluxia's part had turned out to be so much deeper than that. Axel had pretended to sympathise with Marluxia's cause on the orders of Saix -- Zexion's discovery of that fact had been the catalyst for his departure -- though it hadn't stopped Axel ridding Marluxia of his enemies within the group to prove his false loyalty. Axel had only ever had any regard for Saix and, according to the words of the others, when their interests clashed, Axel had betrayed him too. Zexion struggled to understand the motivations of any of them despite what he had witnessed or heard second hand after the fact.

The fact of the matter was, Axel must have been with the group for long enough for the anger to subside. Saix was stubborn, but he and Axel had a past together, even before their hearts were lost. They were best friends and, while a lot of unpleasantness happened between them while they were Nobodies, they must have somehow connected again as Lea and Isa if not Axel and Saix.

That said, it was apparent to Zexion that Axel was not yet trusted. There was nothing in his manner that would suggest such a thing, but the fact that Axel wielded traditional weapons as opposed to summoning them was more telling than anyone could know.

The girl, interesting though her abilities were, was a mystery to him.

[gracefuldahlia]

The question made Marluxia frown, and he shifted in his chair before admitting, "I'm afraid I can't answer that." He glanced over at Grimmjow, who was clearly a favoured rival of Saix's before he explained, "Saix has never, before arriving here, to the best of my knowledge, had the ability he used in that fight," his eyes flickered to Grimmjow again before he looked back at Aizen, "and which I understand he has used in others." A frown touched Marluxia's face as he considered the implications. "All I can tell you is the limits of their abilities where we came from, but this world has given us new resources, new abilities, imposed classes upon us, and sealed off some abilities that we used to have." Chakra was the main one; they'd never had to use such a thing before, or control it in such a way, and it took time to pick up. Yet, despite all the avenues chakra opened, they'd been sealed off from the darkness they were used to, and couldn't travel with it any longer.

He looked at Ulquiorra as he said, "What I can say is that I know Axel used to be capable of more, and may still be, or may be again given time, whereas Saix is utilising old abilities in new ways, and some abilities that are entirely new, so I can't say how far he's going to progress with those." He turned his attention back to Aizen as he finished, "Though I will say neither of them looked set on killing their opponents in that fight," he remembered something, and then added, "until she," he indicated Nel with one hand, "brought Axel down." And then Saix's interest hadn't been Grimmjow; Grimmjow had simply become an obstacle, up until the girl had intervened and Axel had got back up.

He'd also, Marluxia realised, attacked Luppi with similar brutality when Luppi had gone for the girl. Saix had allies he cared about, it seemed.

That was useful.

[declaregamuza]

Nel had listened to Marluxia talk with quiet thoughtfulness. It had been eerie to watch the way you'd behaved in a fight. She'd been reminded of things she'd barely noticed at the time, too, such as the way the berserker had dropped everything at his ally's instruction, and the way the two men had stood as if guarding the girl before the fight had even begun.

It made sense, then, that the berserker had grabbed for Luppi when he'd got close, and that he'd swung for her despite being in the middle of a fight with an already powerful enemy whom he needed to concentrate on.

She frowned as she listened, and wondered how much difference it would have made if they'd all been dead set on seeing the fight through to the end.

She was glad she'd pulled them out when she did. There was no question that the girl had used Great Gospel; Ulquiorra's memory proved that beyond all doubt. If she hadn't recognised it, if anyone else had been leading the group, Arrancar could have died there.

[tozasemurcielago]

Ulquiorra watched with one eye, and listened impassively, as Marluxia spoke. His own attention had fallen to the alchemist, who had reacted with such obvious horror to the presence of the fire elemental, that Ulquiorra had looked over.

He did his best to ignore L, who had the good grace not to be trying to make eye contact. Keeping his every reaction to being in the room with L bottled up was wearying; Ulquiorra was having to keep a very tight control on himself, more than he was used to.

He dismissed any potential danger from the fire elemental when Marluxia said there had been no killing intent from him in that fight. It made no significant difference to Ulquiorra. The Ryoka had not forced Ulquiorra to even draw his sword; whatever other resources he may have been able to call upon, Ulquiorra was confident it would not be enough.

The berserker, too, was trash of no real concern. Grimmjow was simply playing with his food. If Ulquiorra found himself faced with the berserker, the berserker would not be entertained in such a way.

The girl, however, was the threat, as Ulquiorra saw. A powerful Holy elemental, with an ability that had made Nel call a withdraw. She had caught Aizen-sama's interest, that much was evident.

His eye hadn't grown back yet, but it would not be long, now. His regeneration was slower like this than when he was in resurrección, but it was just as effecive.

[theschemer]

Zexion sat quietly, still reeling from what he'd seen. The cogs in his head were starting to work again, but he had no desire to discuss his thought processes until he'd worked them out for himself.

He had a lot to think about. Everything from their abilities to the potential circumstances of how they came to ally themselves once again would need to be examined and investigated. How Axel had managed to go unnoticed for this long was certainly curious. He wasn't the most subtle of people and yet he'd kept a low profile. Zexion knew how dangerous Saix and Axel could be, far more than anybody else in the room other than, perhaps, Marluxia, especially to each other. Nevertheless, they fought side by side. Saix had even visibly lost his temper when Neliel floored Axel. They fought together with more of a regard for their team mates than the Arrancar did.

They weren't allies, they were friends.

He knew now that he and Marluxia had been brought in for that display. Axel was virtually a mystery to them, so he had been off their radar until very recently, potentially until that battle. The members of Khamja in on the mission had ascertained that he was probably a Ryoka. Because of that, Aizen had clearly figured that if they knew him, they wouldn't have been able to hide their recognition, especially if his presence there was as much of a surprise to them as it was him. One may have managed it casually, but not both. Never both.

Zexion looked over at Ulquiorra when he felt his eye on him, but his returned glance was brief.

[theedgeofreason]

Aizen thought back over what he'd seen of the footage and decided that Marluxia was, indeed, correct. There had been no killing intent even though they'd drawn first. It was like a knee-jerk reaction, as though this Saix was only drawing because he expected Grimmjow to do the same. They both relished battle, that was clear, almost as much as their rivalry was. Had Grimmjow not been present in the group, the fight almost certainly wouldn't have happened.

He was curious about the abilities that they had retained and those that were new. Discussing them in front of the group, however, was entirely unnecessary. "Indeed," he said, looking thoughtful. "Would you be willing to discuss the matter further at a later date?"

It was always possible that Marluxia would tell him no, but it couldn't hurt to ask. Alliances in Clan Khamja were far rarer than enmity. He would undoubtedly be indebted to him if he chose to follow it up, but he could weather that.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia smiled at the suggestion.

He had no reason to protect the interests of Xigbar's Thirteenth Order; they were as much his enemy as they were Khamja's enemies, these days. Even Larxene had made it clear where her loyalties lay, which had been a disappointment, because up until meeting the Akatsuki Jashinist, Larxene could be relied upon to chase the entertainment value. That Larxene, an ally who had previously declared that hearts weren't worth the pain, had gone and followed her heart was both disappointing and amusing at the same time.

Yet, while Marluxia had no reason to protect the interest of Xigbar and the others, he had plenty of reason to protect his own. The Order had clearly been working to develop their abilities, and as much as Marluxia loathed to admit it, the likes of Vexen, and likely Xigbar, had a certain knack for picking at and testing things to see what worked. They'd got further than Marluxia had been able to get on his own. They had their weapons back, or something very much like them. That was a conversation to be had with Zexion, later.

Revealing everything he knew about the others and their abilities would, invariably, reveal some of Marluxia's own, and that was something Marluxia would prefer to avoid. Especially to Aizen, who reminded him so much of Xemnas on his best days, and Gin, who reminded him of Xigbar at his worst.

Still, if he made sure the information exchange was not entirely one way, he could still benefit.

"Of course," he replied, calmly, still wearing that smile. "It seems one or two, at least, have taken a particular interest in certain of your Arrancar, and I can't claim I shall be heartbroken if your Arrancar happen to permanently gain an upper hand."

Not that he'd cry if Grimmjow never came back either, but seeing Saix in particular taken down for good held a vengeful appeal. A part of him would prefer to deal with Axel in person, but Saix had clearly not afforded any of them the same courtesy, so being killed by a mere minion had a delightful poetry about it.

"So what do you know of the girl?" He asked. Aizen had clearly already guessed that Axel was a Ryoka, but had they made the same assumption about the girl? It was certainly a dangerous little trick she had, especially in that sort of company.

[sipthehoneylikeabutterfly]

Szayel had been paying rapt attention since Ulquiorra had initiated his little technique, enough so that he almost seemed to have forgotten about Lilinette sitting close enough to touch.

Luppi really had taken a battering, hadn't he? The little fool will learn to watch his step in future, Szayel thought, bitterly. Still, it had been interesting to witness, as much as Ulquiorra seemed to dismiss the berserker as Grimmjow's problem.

If Szayel went into the field any time soon, he'd need something to negate the effects of fire. His Hollow was Ice elemental, which could put him at a significant disadvantage if this 'Axel' used a technique such as burning everything in the vicinity. He had good grasp of his chakra element, even for a Ryoka, was unfortunately fast, and preferred to fight long range. He'd have to be crippled, quickly. Especially since he had a fair grasp of the notion of tactics.

The Berserker was mostly just fast and hit hard; a typical berserker, from Szayel's estimation. Powerful, strong, but rather than being defensively strong he relied on simply being harder to hit. He wasn't a tactical fighter, and had even been disarmed and beaten with his own weapon, despite it being a fabricated one. Szayel didn't anticipate any difficulties with him.

The girl was interesting. Holy elemental, mage, and using a limit ability that was documented as being unique to Cetra. While it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that the girl had that ability while being Ryoka, Marluxia denied it.

But she couldn't possibly be an actual Cetra, surely? Still, it was hard to deny that there should be exactly one person alive in the whole of Spira who can use that ability, and that was Nel, who had a Hollow whose dominant personality was a Cetra shackled into her headspace.

Oh and how he wanted to hear what Marluxia had to say about the abilities of the Ryoka. Old abilities in new ways, new abilities, new methods....

"Haqd desa oui vekrd uha, pnehk pylg y cysbma. Oui lyh ajah lymm ed y pendrtyo bnacahd ev oui pnehk sa pylg y fruma uha," he said, quietly, to Yylfordt.

[palehornedprince]

Yylfordt had observed Ulquiorra's demonstration with a serious expression, which he still wore now, but a lot of it covered boredom. The Ryoka were interesting, and the fact that the long streak of piss Ulquiorra had fought had managed to fucking cut him was worrying. Yylfordt knew that hanging about Grimmjow increased his chances of running into that dude, and that was something Yylfordt would prefer to avoid.

But after that, it was mostly the boss and Ryoka Pinkie Pie talking about stuff that Yylfordt didn't really give a hoot for.

And then Szayel muttered something, and Yylfordt frowned and looked over at his little brother and hissed back, "Lyh oui yd maycd dno yht cuiht macc mega Vnaygcruf?"

[theedgeofreason]

Aizen nodded at Marluxia's decision to go with his request. That could prove useful. Zexion had little reason to give him any information about the other Ryoka, which was both unfortunate and understandable, given what he had forced him to do. Marluxia did not have that to stop him and would no doubt find some way to make a profit from the alliance. Khamja members rarely did anything that did not benefit them.

As for the girl, Aizen decided that it was wise to play his cards close to his chest on that matter. "We considered that she might be a Ryoka," he said, looking thoughtful, though he shook his head after a moment. "As it is, you have already dismissed the possibility. It's clear that she is an accomplished Holy Elemental, though whether she is native or simply a Ryoka from a group other than yours remains to be seen." That was possible. The term Ryoka and others, together with the stories associated with the the bad luck they are said to bring, were certainly around before Marluxia and his old cohorts arrived.

It was common knowledge that Holy Elementals were rarer than those with more ... pedestrian elemental alignments and that their abilities, like those of Dark, Poison and Plant Elementals could vary far more than the others. Their Limit Breaks had the option of being either restorative or offensive, depending on the person. The girl was clearly supportive and her Limit reflected that.

"Whichever it is, how they met is a point of interest to me." That was certainly the truth. "The Order have never shied away from mingling with natives, but they tend to stick to allied groups. The Mist Swordsmen, Akatsuki, the crews of The Blackjack and the Strahl -- all people that we are familiar with. This lone girl doesn't appear to be part of any of their usual circles."

Aizen did not care to mention that the girl might be a Cetra, or how extremely likely that looked now that Marluxia had denied knowledge of her. They were known to be extinct, their blood thinned through centuries of mixing with other Hyur races. It was possible that a known Cetra ability could come up down the line, but it had never been documented. In either case, Aizen had no desire to inform Marluxia that she was likely to be special in some way, not until he had at least discussed it with Neliel, and possibly brought it up with L, who could possibly look into her past to find anything unusual or Szayel, who would undoubtedly have opinions to put forth.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia listened, thoughtfully. It was reassuring to know that Aizen and the others considered the girl, and her abilities, to be unusual enough to be non-native. He was aware, distantly, of the different races and their status in the world of Spira today; he had to know things like that in order to blend in, and Marluxia liked to stay informed, but if he was honest, whether the girl was native or not made no significant difference to Marluxia's view.

"She was not present at the incident that brought us to this world," Marluxia answered, "but that is all I can confirm." Spira was strange, locked off to the worlds Marluxia knew, but having a word for off-worlders such as themselves indicated the concept, at least, already existed. Keyblade bearers long past had visited, perhaps, or others. Marluxia didn't know what part of the known or unknown universe Spira existed in, but he was aware that the universe was larger than the worlds he knew, and Lumi came from worlds outside of those, as did the mercenary currently in the Order. It was not beyond the realm of possibility that visitors from those kinds of worlds had occurred in the past.

How had Axel and Saix met her, he wondered? Saix wasn't prone to making friends. He was prone to making enemies, but not so much friends. Axel, on the other hand, had a knack with youngsters, strangers... neophytes that made him almost downright sociable.

"To find out where they met, I'd suggest looking at Axel before Saix," he added. "The closest I expect Saix has come to making a friend here, without the mediation of a third party, is Grimmjow. Axel is the better equipped in that department."

And if Saix had been the one to make friends with the girl first, that was interesting all on its own.

[lilinette]

Lilinette sat, perched, boredly, on the edge of Szayel's chair, scratching the inside of her nose with one finger and examining the ceiling. She was debating flicking a crow at Szayel, but the uproar might get them both in trouble, so for the moment, while Aizen and Marluxia talked, she refrained.

They were both being careful with what they said. You could hear it, if you listened; the things they weren't saying. Things like why they were interested got conveniently left out.

Instead of flicking bogeys, she stared at Ulquiorra. He had his eyes closed, but if you looked, you could see that the one he'd taken out was filling in to look normal again under the eyelid.

[theedgeofreason]

Aizen would be sure to remember the information on Saix and Axel's personalities. Saix was clearly aggressive to a high degree, that much had been indicated by his repeated fights with Grimmjow. Axel ... would require further research and plenty of it, by the looks of things. They had a lot to catch up on where he was concerned.

"Very well," Aizen said, giving Marluxia a nod and then turning his attention back to the group at large. "Most of you have had some first-hand experience of the Ryoka in the past," he began, clearly addressing his Arrancar and not L, Gin and the two Ryoka themselves. "What you have seen is evidence that they are a risky battle proposition, even for you. Right now, we cannot be sure how they rank as a group. The Fire Elemental, Axel, is quite possibly the most powerful one we have seen thus far, though Elemental strengths and weaknesses should always be taken into account."

Aizen was sure that Ulquiorra had only fared as well as he had against Axel on account of him having the Elemental advantage over Fire. That he had been cut, even slightly, still concerned him. Doubtless Ulquiorra had brushed it off, but had he found himself up against the Thunder Elemental that he had faced before, the tide may have turned in a completely different direction, and very quickly.

"Should you find yourselves up against them in the field," he said, looking at certain individuals -- Nnoitra, Szayel and Grimmjow for good measure, "you are instructed to withdraw should it become apparent that you cannot win. That is an order."

[prayingmantis]

Nnoitra scowled back at Aizen when his attention fell to him.

He didn't care how powerful Aizen said they were. As far as he was concerned, the risk was overestimated. Without the girl and her Limit, if that's what it was, they wouldn't have won. Nel had taken out the Fire Elemental even where Ulquiorra had struggled, and from what he'd heard, it was always a war of endurance between Grimmjow and that Berserker.

When he'd ended up facing a party with a Ryoka present, it hadn't been her that had given him the trouble. The Ryoka had been annoying, but she hadn't done the most damage to the party. He'd been forced into Oversoul by the Jashinist, not her. Nel hadn't had her mask cracked by the Ryoka, that had been down to the Mist Swordsman. Or woman. Whatever.

One thing was clear enough, though. The ones he'd seen in action seemed to fucking own their Elements. The Thunder Elemental chick had been as zap-happy when he'd seen her as that Axel guy had with his Fire in Ulquiorra's recording. That meant they had weaknesses, too, and Ulquiorra was obviously a fucking idiot for not responding Fire with Water.

[jawmask]

Grimmjow sat quietly, glaring at nothing in particular.

He'd fought a lot of Ryoka and they were always a pain in the neck. Either they travelled in big groups, or they fucked around with weird techniques. The Berserker was the only true fighter among them and he wasn't better than him. He wouldn't even say they were evenly matched. They'd just never fought long enough for the battle to be decided.

Next time, and he didn't doubt that there would be one, Grimmjow intended to make that right.

[guntoaknifefight]

Stark had listened to everything very carefully. While he hadn't faced a Ryoka in the field, or even seen one in person, he had, nonetheless, paid attention to each and every battle report they'd got on them in the past. This one was only different in that he could watch it first-hand.

He sighed, kind of wishing that Aizen had done this with the first major battle with one of them, the one that had resulted in Nnoitra going into Oversoul. Ulquiorra'd been there, too.

The various accounts that Stark had received second- or third-hand told him that the Ryoka were a powerful group and that they kept powerful friends. Even one Ryoka amongst a group of natives had the potential to be very difficult when it came to battle, even when Arrancar outnumbered them. He knew that he was unlikely to face one and have the Elemental disadvantage -- he had a lot of them under his control -- but even then, some of them sounded awkward in ways other than that. They sounded like a lot of work. A lot of work he didn't want to deal with.

[palehornedprince]

Yylfordt had seen a few Ryoka by now, and he hadn't enjoyed running into any of them. One look at Grimmjow told him he'd be lucky to avoid them, though. Saix had become That One Guy, that one bro Grimmjow was going to throw himself at over and over until one, the other, or both of them couldn't move any more.

There was bound to be a next time, but Yylfordt agreed with the boss on this one; better to back away from a fight you can't win. Especially where elemental weaknesses were concerned. Skite on the whole were a diverse group when it came to strengths and weaknesses, but what that also meant was that they'd need a lot of luck to run into one that wouldn't be able to destroy any of them.

Or worse, the likes of that gun toting old guy, who he remembered hadn't set out to kill them, but, unlike Saix in Ulquiorra's memory there, had been a bit more straightforward about getting them out of the way.

He glanced at Apache, and then at Grimmjow. They needed to tread carefully.

[destroytiburon]

Halibel had listened, and observed, and continued to listen, in sombre silence. Axel would pose no threat to her, and unlike Ulquiorra, she was well accustomed to making use of her elemental affinity for maximum effect.

She recognised, however, that this did not make her safe, and she was already aware of the thunder mage among the Ryoka, and the potential threat she would be. Combat with Ryoka got messy, that much was clear. In this instance, Nel's reluctance to enter the fight, Ulquiorra's propensity for using only as much force as he deemed necessary, Grimmjow's impulsivity, and Luppi's pride had caused additional problems, but there was no indication that different behaviours would have been of any assistance.

She'd never met a Ryoka on the battlefield herself. While she didn't relish the thought of doing so, she would make her best assessment of the situation, and react accordingly. Even if that meant withdrawing.

[sipthehoneylikeabutterfly]

Szayel pursed his lips and clenched his jaw in a swift, angered grimace. He was being singled out, as if he'd run headlong into a fight he couldn't win. With his release abilities, there was no way he could lose, short of someone who was familiar with his techniques enough to be prepared for them which absolutely none of the Ryoka were.

It would be so easy, take the girl, and the Ryoka, and destroy every important tendon, leave them unable to move, and then Szayel could deal with them at leisure.

He did so want samples from them all. A whole sample, still living, would be delightful. He could find out how they worked, better than he could from a simple tissue sample from either Zexion or Marluxia, after all. They were possibilities, but there was no way either of them would consent to being properly studied, and unfortunately, Szayel would require their consent in this situation. But a captured Ryoka....

Being put in the same category as Grimmjow and Nnoitra, however, rankled.

[tozasemurcielago]

Ulquiorra opened his eyes. Both of them, seeing the world in binocular vision again, and blinking once before he looked over the room. Grimmjow, Nnoitra, and Szayel appeared to be paying as much attention as expected to the instruction.

Ulquiorra, for his part, knew how much credit was due to the fire elemental now, but it didn't change his opinion on how futile such an opponent facing him would be. That he had managed to cut him was impressive, testament to his speed, and strength, but in a fight where Ulquiorra had not drawn his sword, and taking into account the elemental affinities at play, the fight had been even.

The fact that Neliel had brought the Ryoka down so quickly once she had released herself was proof enough of that.

Still, an order was an order, and should Ulquiorra find himself faced with an unknown entity again, he would be less restrained, and if he faced the girl with the lightning, he would react accordingly.

His attention flitted over Marluxia, who had been very forthcoming with what information he had, and Zexion, who after his initial outburst, had remained quiet. He was... different.

[theschemer]

Zexion had been happy to allow Marluxia to do the talking. He himself had no desire to feed Aizen information and he knew considerably more about the Ryoka and their allies than Marluxia did, including how they called forth their weapons. He didn't think for a moment that he'd be able to avoid a conversation with Marluxia on that subject, however. Now he knew that they had reclaimed the ability to do it, a discussion was almost inevitable.

He regretted speaking out when he did about Axel. The shock had overwhelmed him. While he had spent a few moments mentally kicking himself for the outburst, he knew now that it was probably not a bad thing to have done. His shock had been obvious, nobody could have missed it. He didn't know Axel was there, nobody could dispute that. Marluxia had even confirmed that he was also surprised to see him. Good. It meant that nobody could accuse him of knowing more than he was letting on and question him over it.

That was the last thing he wanted.