The flowers of naivete,

[gracefuldahlia]

It had been an enlightening meeting, as well as a concerning one. Marluxia had given enough information to be helpful without exposing himself too much, and he planned to keep things that way, although manoeuvering around someone as dangerous as Aizen while doing that would be tricky. Marluxia didn't like the man; he reminded him of Xemnas except for the important and concerning possibility that Aizen might be a thousand times more dangerous, but he was a useful ally of convenience, at least for the time being.

Axel was alive, and on this world, and running around with Saix as though their time as Nobodies had never happened. That was something Marluxia had needed to think over. There were implications, not just to Axel's appearance here, but to his alliance with Saix. Those two made for a dangerous combination; together they'd plotted and executed the neat disposal of half the Organisation, having moved each other and the rest of them into positions that allowed them to follow through on a plan no one had realised they'd had.

Xigbar would be a fool to trust them, and Xigbar was many things, but regardless of how he acted, he was no fool. Zexion had clearly not known Axel was around, so it seemed unlikely that Axel had encountered the remnants of the Organisation prior to Zexion's departure, but they also hadn't heard anything about him before now, which made Marluxia wonder if he'd been hidden up to now. This was Khamja's first encounter with Axel, and given the record of certain former Organisation members when it came to picking fights with Khamja, and with Arrancar in particular, it seemed unlikely that would be possible, but these two were tricky.

Although how long Axel had been here paled into insignificance next to the fact that he was here. Axel had not been present when the rest of them... arrived. He'd got here somehow, after the fact.

And then there had been the way Saix summoned his old weapon....

There was one person whom Marluxia would reluctantly admit was smarter than himself, and it was him Marluxia came looking for in the library. Getting to Zexion early, when he was still on the back foot with the new information, may have given Marluxia an advantage with him, but it would also have put Zexion on the defensive, which Marluxia preferred to avoid. Instead, Marluxia had gone to process the new information for himself, first, and attempt to glean what little more he could from L, who had been very busy trying to track down how long Axel had been with the rest of the Organisation and had thus far found nothing except a distinct lack of his own informants where informants had previously been, before discussing the issues with Zexion.

Zexion, of course, was attracted to libraries like iron to magnets. Marluxia entered the library, expecting that Zexion would have noticed his approach already; Zexion had always been particularly talented at that sort of thing, and spotted the Cloaked Schemer at the large table in the middle.

He approached him without any particular hurry. Zexion didn't appear to be in a hurry to go anywhere, after all.

Comments

[theschemer]

"I do," he said, not about to argue the fact. "I pioneered the ability, though most of us in The Order have managed to master it to some degree."

It wasn't easy. It took a lot of effort to master the initial generation and then considerable training to maintain the weapon's form for any length of time. Those who needed a weapon that could be forged and dismissed at their whim had progressed the farthest first, especially if their traditional alternative was large or heavy. Others, such as Lexaeus and Xaldin, had taken longer. Luxord, the most distant of their number, had opted to eschew it entirely.

[gracefuldahlia]

'Us'. Marluxia heard that little slip in Zexion's speech and a smirk touched the corner of his lips. While Zexion still thought that way, he wasn't going to get out of the Palace any time soon. He'd have to be more careful.

Marluxia didn't point it out, yet. Instead, he nodded, just the once. "I don't intend to be left behind," he said, shifting his weight and moving that fraction closer to Zexion, his voice dropping slightly, "and you need an ally, if not a friend. We both find ourselves embroiled in the affairs of a clan which claims among its ordinary members people who make Xemnas' megalomania look like a quaint peccadillo."

There was no love lost between them, but Marluxia was not opposed to an alliance of convenience. Especially when there were the likes of Aizen, L, and Gin prowling the halls. He needed something from Zexion, and Zexion, right now, if he ever wished to get out of this Palace, needed someone on his side.

[theschemer]

Zexion fixed Marluxia with a look that hovered between defiant and nervous. Marluxia was giving him a choice; teach him and forge a tentative alliance with him, one that could very well include Kuja and Lumi by extension, or deny him access to a recreation of his old ability and make himself another enemy.

The decision came easy.

"It is a technique that requires practice to improve the duration of the manifestation," he said after a moment. "That is, if you find yourself able to master it at all."

It shouldn't be impossible, especially with their experience related to manipulating their Nobody weapons, but the effectiveness of the technique varied by person to person. Their weapons had been a part of them back then, there was no reason why they shouldn't be a part of them still, providing they had good enough Chakra manipulation.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia was satisfied with Zexion's response. Zexion was not an idiot, but he could be tricky to deal with. If he'd refused to tell Marluxia how it was done, Marluxia would struggle to get the information out of him, but a trade of a technique for alliance within the clan was in both their interests.

"You said most of the Order have mastered it to some degree," Marluxia pointed out. "Presumably, that includes Demyx and Larxene, who both lack discipline." And intelligence, in Demyx's case. If they could learn, Marluxia most certainly could. "Afford me the opportunity, and I will learn, Zexion."

[theschemer]

Demyx, contrary to how lackadaisical he seemed, had been all about raw power in a fight. Granted, he tended to dally about with music, but he also executed exceptionally powerful Water Elemental techniques that consisted of towering columns of water blasting his opponents and blocking their escape routes. Larxene's modus operandi had consisted of hit-and-run strikes and lethal magical outbursts. Neither of them had changed. The only difference was that they were now referred to as 'Mages'.

Marluxia's battle style had been brutal-but-measured and both heavily physical and just magical enough. If none of the others had made any drastic alterations to their fighting preferences, Zexion did not expect that Marluxia had, either. He did not doubt that Marluxia had the ability to both learn and master the ability. He knew that his Chakra reserves were vast but deliberately understated and his control, even from what he had seen thus far, was precise.

"I don't doubt your ability," he said quietly, "but it isn't easy. Demyx and Larxene both opt not to summon their Nobody weapons due to the concentration required to sustain it in battle and the potential drain on their Chakra reserves. They are both magically inclined, unlike Saix. Not all of The Order use the ability, even if they learned it. Luxord didn't trouble himself even to learn the basics."

As with all things, some were better than others. Additionally, it was effective when used in combination with certain fighting styles, but not others. Vexen could summon his Shield and fend off attacks indefinitely while taking remarkably little damage to the weapon. Xaldin tended to use his only against difficult prey during any Mark Hunts he undertook. The ability to remote-control numerous weapons became extremely useful against one large enemy, but was largely pointless when executed against a weak opponent and downright dangerous to his own health when used against a group. Though useful in particular situations, the Whirlwind Lancer consistently found himself unable to recall it once lost. Saix, conversely, had the ability to generate his weapon over and over with only eventual detriment to his power.

"I will teach you the technique," he confirmed, in case Marluxia had reason to doubt him, "but I implore you to use it sparingly. As far as I am aware, Saix alone has been seen producing a weapon in such a way. I don't think anyone related to Clan Khamja has witnessed any of the rest of us doing such a thing. I would prefer to preserve their ignorance for a little longer."

[gracefuldahlia]

There was a trace of amusement in Marluxia's smile as Zexion spoke. He was well aware that no one else had been seen to perform this little trick, or he'd have known about it earlier. The fact that the mages in the Order were disinclined to use it, however, was an interesting note, and one Marluxia intended to remember. It might be useful.

"I have no intention of letting anyone else know the full limits of our power," he answered. Especially not Aizen, which was exactly why he'd offered to share what information he had. He'd have a better grasp of what the man knew about them, then, and 'them' in this instance included himself.

Having Graceful Dahlia returned would be an asset. It would be a bigger asset if the return of his scythe was unknown to the general population of Khamja.

"How long will this lesson require?" He asked, quietly. He'd need space to practice, preferably away from prying eyes. That would not be too difficult; difficulty would arise if he required Zexion's presence for too long, or too many times.