Forgetting what it was I came to find...

[thechillyacademic]

Even, after his discussion with Szayel early in the morning, had stepped out into the garden to experience it properly.

It was a curious place. The sky, be it projected or a magical window to somewhere far away, felt real. The temperature had risen as time progressed, but it hadn't got too hot. The height of Summer was long gone and things were cooling down. The breeze was like a breath of cool air, not the stagnant atmosphere that ordinarily lingered and loitered in caves. The grass smelled pleasant, but there was another scent there, the subtle odour of dull decay mixed with the sweet smell of fallen fruit, as though Autumn was on the horizon.

He found that he wasn't sure whether those particular notes were borne on the light wind blowing in from who knows where, or whether they came from the garden itself, the tangible expanse he could see before him. Almost everything seemed so ... normal. There was grass, both mown short and left long, there were cultivated flowerbeds close to the kitchen door, not far from the little slab-covered patio that the doors opened out directly onto. Once upon a time there must have been a canopy or veranda, he noted, for there were pillars at the corners of the brickwork that stood freely and supported nothing. Further away from the palace he could see the heads of the season's last wildflowers bobbing back and forth in the wind.

Flowers hadn't surprised him much. He was used to them, given his original home. Their beauty wasn't lost on him, but it wasn't something he cared for. Flowers carried memories best forgotten, and not all of them were of Radiant Garden.

It was the trees that had shocked him. According to what he'd heard, the garden had been discovered late, and yet trees grew tall and thick trunked. Not immense, old trees, but ones large enough to be too big to have been grown naturally in the time that was reputed to have passed between the garden's discovery and the present. He didn't doubt that Marluxia had a hand in encouraging their growth. The ivy that climbed up old ruined buildings dotted out further afield appeared, at least, to be natural.

The low hum of an insect caught his attention and made him wonder whether the miles and miles between the location he stood in and the place where the weather came from was able to be crossed by creatures coming in from the air. Perhaps they had been imported in from somewhere manually, in little boxes with tiny air-holes and kept in hives. He wouldn't put that past Marluxia -- he, of all people, would know that insects were important for pollination. Insects and birds, he had thought, and listened, in a pause between steps, to the musical posturing competition that was birdsong.

More than the garden, Even was paying attention to the palace itself. He had walked some distance, but not far enough to arouse the Malboros' ire. They were larger close up, but not the biggest he'd had the misfortune of meeting. The palace extended up to and beyond the position of the greenhouse, he'd seen. The windows were black and lightless and a layer of dust was visible on the insides thanks to the light of a faraway sun. Nothing past a peculiar glass sunhouse positioned near where a deep ditch dropped away from the palace seemed to be inhabited.

Upon returning to the building itself, he worked out that the area of the Palace that those ground-level windows corresponded to were not occupied, but he hadn't yet worked out how to reach them. It was entirely possible that they were blocked off entirely. It would make sense that the palace might not be entirely whole after sinking beneath the ground, but it would take further investigation to confirm that. He had a brief look in the general area, but found nothing of use.

Since he would need help to try and work out the route, he decided to explore already charted areas of the palace instead.

Even's first port of call was, of course, the library. He pushed open the doors and looked around from the doorway. It was ... large. Probably not as big as the one in Radiant Garden, but it spanned two floors and extended some distance under the mezzanine layer. Heavy curtains covered the windows, but the room was already lit despite the fact that it appeared to be quite unoccupied.

Comments

[gracefuldahlia]

It had been a relief to fall asleep in a real bed again the night before, and Marluxia had showered before going to sleep. He'd showered again when he woke up, partly for the luxury of hot running water again, and partly because spending the better part of a week traveling through the Roo had made him feel grubby.

He could sense Vexen's reiatsu already. It was like hearing an extra note in a symphony, blending in with the cacophony but still very much a new introduction to the trained ear. Or whatever sense one used to pick up on reiatsu. Zexion used his nose, but Marluxia certainly wouldn't describe it as a scent.

He had things to discuss with Vexen. They'd covered some in Daguerreo, but there were other things that needed to be broached now that Marluxia wasn't on a mission to bring Vexen in peacefully. Preferably, they'd be discussed out of the earshot of Arrancar, or other Khamja members. Vexen was in the library now; Marluxia could feel him there, and he allowed himself an amused smirk. Of course the scientist would gravitate to the library. He was nearly as bad as Zexion for that.

Marluxia picked up a coffee from the kitchen first. He could tell Szayel had been in there, and he wasn't someone Marluxia had missed, but he'd left since, and the kitchen was fortunately empty. Then, with a coffee in hand, he went to find Vexen in the library.

He didn't normally venture in there much. The library was Aizen's territory and Marluxia preferred to steer clear of attracting his attention.

[thechillyacademic]

Even, when Marluxia arrived, was looking through the shelves underneath the mezzanine level of the library. It was secluded and dimly lit, illuminated only by an assortment of dark-shaded standard lamps and wall sconces. It smelled, like any good library home to ageing books, dusty and strongly of the sweet, pleasant smell of longterm paper decay.

He ran a fingertip along the gilded names and authors of some leatherbound volumes and barely looked at others. The collection was remarkable. Some of the books were so old that their titles were positively archaic by Standard Spiran's current modern definition. Some were older still, being written in dead languages. He'd found a small section dedicated to Cetra writings, but they were mostly written on scrolls with only a few in properly bound books. Given the age of the palace, it was entirely possible that those weren't readable except by specialised scholars even when the place was inhabited by the intended residents.

He felt Marluxia enter the library. It was still hard to detect people at distance, to sort specific notes from the noise, but Marluxia was familiar enough. He scowled a little, having the distinct feeling that he was there specifically to see him. Intelligent as Marluxia undoubtedly was, he did not strike Even as the type who spent a lot of his free time surrounded by books.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia wasn't overly fond of the library, if he was honest. It wasn't just that it was usually inhabited by Aizen, at least one of his minions, and L, it was also the fact that it smelled of dead paper and dry air. Marluxia preferred living scents, not the aroma of long dead trees, thinly sliced and dried out.

The scent of his coffee overpowered that, right now, but it couldn't overpower the sense of Zexion, Aizen, and Ulquiorra in the air, the three most prominent signatures in the room, with L lingering behind if one knew to pick it out. Vexen's presence had disturbed the balance in the room. It felt as if it had been invaded.

"It didn't take you long to find the research materials," Marluxia said, his voice low, and smooth, and his tone nearly friendly. "How were your new accommodations?" He asked, walking deeper in to the library until he could spy Vexen around the bookshelves.

Then he stopped, maintaining a respectful distance from both Vexen, and the books. Even Marluxia knew better than to carry a drink too close to these.

[thechillyacademic]

"Satisfactory," he said, not looking away from the title that he had his attention on. "Larger than I expected, dustier than I would like. I'll get used to it."

The tone made him suspicious. It was friendly, which wasn't entirely unexpected -- Marluxia was a manipulator -- and he had clearly sought him out specifically. For what, Even could only guess. He expected it to be ground rules, advice in the interest of not being killed by a resident or something else in that vein.

He turned around.

Even looked tired, like a single night's sleep hadn't quite been enough. He had always been sharp featured, but something about the stress and travel of the past few weeks had rather accentuated that. No amount of haughtiness could cover up the fact that he was fraying around the edges, if just a little. It would take a lot longer to smooth that out.

[gracefuldahlia]

Vexen was a man that had been through the mill. Marluxia had known that anyway, he'd known that before they'd traveled to Daguerreo to find him. Xigbar would have made walking away from the 'Order' as it had been established, and the Organization as it truly was, just as dangerous as it had been under Xemnas. Add to that the failed relationship, betrayals, long journeys, and being picked up by the last people in the world Vexen probably wanted to see, and it was no wonder the man looked haggard.

Though he was rather more well rested and composed than he had been. Marluxia smiled at him. "I'm sure you'll make the place your own before long."

Marluxia took a sip from his coffee before he asked, "Have you been given the tour, yet?" Their arrival hadn't been the time for more than a 'Kitchen's there, beds are this way' style introduction to the Palace. "The gardens are really quite impressive, especially to say we're underground."

[thechillyacademic]

Being new, Even felt like him settling into the palace would be a long time away from now. That he had only been there a day wasn't making him feel any better, for the sensation of being somewhere he didn't belong overrode the logical reassurances he tried to give himself.

"No," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I ventured into the gardens briefly this morning, but I didn't stray too far on account of the malboros." He gave him a pointed look.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia smiled, and there was genuine amusement, but no warmth behind it. His sentinels weren't popular in the Palace, but they were usually left unmolested by the regular denizens. No one was quite sure how the other Malboros would react if anyone attacked one of their number, but everyone was reasonably sure that Marluxia would be unhappy if someone damaged his property.

As a result, the Malboros did tend to act like they owned a portion of the garden, and it could be disconcerting for someone who wasn't used to them.

"A wise decision," Marluxia said, to the pointed look. "I haven't had time to instruct them on how to respond to you, yet." There could have been a threat in that statement, but Marluxia's casual tone masked it, if there was. "Perhaps it would be best to get an introduction out of the way? I have a number of species you might find interesting, too. This world contains so many things we're unfamiliar with."

Marlboros being one of them.

[thechillyacademic]

He would have ignored a threat in Marluxia's tone even if it had been obvious. Malboros, while unpleasant, weren't invincible, and Even was more than equipped to do them enough damage to render them useless except for being the topmost layer on a compost heap.

Assuming Marluxia had a compost heap. Even would have thought it strange if he didn't.

"Certainly," he said, giving a shrug. He wasn't excited about going on a garden stroll with somebody he used to consider one of his greatest adversaries, but he wasn't afraid, either. He was mostly just tired. "I've not paid much attention to the flora of this world. I'm sure your greenhouse is full of interesting varieties."

He did not make mention of the malboros.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia smiled, graciously. "Wonderful," he said.

Vexen was less easily cowed than he had been, Marluxia noted. It wasn't just his usual stubbornness, and haughty sense of his own intelligence and value, although he still had those in spades. Perhaps it was because Marluxia wasn't in a position of authority over him, now, or perhaps it was because Spira had somewhat changed the playing field when it came to strengths and weaknesses, or, just possibly, it was because there was no Xemnas now to keep him cowed with. Vexen had always backed down when Xemnas came into the equation, Xemnas, or a well timed scythe, in any case.

Manipulating him was going to be harder than it had been.

"There are so many things you're going to find interesting," he said, as he gestured towards the library exit.

[thechillyacademic]

Even inclined his head as Marluxia indicated for him to go first. Knowing where the garden was, and how it could be reached, made him head towards the kitchen. There were probably other ways out -- he had seen doors -- but he went by the route he knew.

To his relief, the kitchen was devoid of any of the usual inhabitants. He didn't know who spent their time there, other than Szayel, at least, but if any of them spent a lot of their day seated at the table, they weren't there now.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia followed Vexen close behind, and took over the lead when they came within range of what his Malboros were trained to think of as their stomping grounds.

"You will find," he said, quietly, "that the library is not a safe location for the discussion of sensitive topics." The Malboro sentries paused in their journeys and wiggled ominously, but they kept a respectful distance and seemed for all the world to be watching Marluxia and Vexen cross the unmarked border. "The walls have ears in most of the Palace, and there especially."

He paused when they reached the entrance to the greenhouse. There were potted plants outside of it, and Marluxia bent, pressing a finger into the soil with a frown. It was a little dry, but he'd been away and it was to be expected.

[thechillyacademic]

"I figured as much," Even said.

Well, discussing sensitive topics anywhere public in the palace was ill advised at the best of times. Something else he had figured was that Marluxia wanted to do more than just share with him the rarest of his plants.

If he was taking him somewhere remote, he was doing so to not be overheard.

He eyed the Malboros unhappily. They were large, but not as much as those he'd had the misfortune of meeting in the wild. That didn't stop them being intimidating, though.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia took another drink of his coffee before he stepped inside the greenhouse. It was hot and humid inside, but at least the plants in here weren't in as much danger of drying out. He left the door open anyway, and opened one of the window panels before he did anything else.

"Have you met any of the other residents, yet?" He asked, once he'd finished, and located a watering can. Vexen would before long, that was an inevitability. The identities of some of the members might come as a surprise, but a quick rundown of what to expect, and who not to trust, and who they had delicate alliances with was in order before Vexen went and blundered in.

[thechillyacademic]

Even waited outside until Marluxia had let in a little air. He'd been in greenhouses before. When he did step in, he stayed mostly in the doorway. He was not one for humidity, unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Two," he said, standing away from the doorframe. he did not lean on it. "Coincidentally, those two were Szayel Apollo Granz and Professor Hojo."

He hadn't said much to Szayel that could be considered over-sharing delicate information and, when it came to Hojo, he had been even cagier.

[gracefuldahlia]

Szayel. Marluxia actually paused at the mention of that name and smiled to himself. Vexen had endured an educational morning so far, then. The other name, however, meant nothing to him. "I'm unfamiliar with Professor Hojo," he said, "though I presume he's the one who laid claim to Orochimaru's facilities." Szayel had been most disappointed to be denied them. So had Aizen, which Marluxia had enjoyed a little more than he'd let on. "Szayel, however, is a nuisance, who will attempt to find out sensitive information by whatever means necessary, including spying. Lumi broke his arm once, and the fool persists in pestering us. If you have to freeze him to a wall somewhere, I'm sure no one will complain. Nearly everyone in the Palace has hit him at one point or another. I understand some of the other Arrancar run bets on how long it will take any new recruits to do the same."

Marluxia added a scoop of something to the water in his can before he made for the door again, towards Vexen. "Our primary ally here is Kuja, but it's an alliance of convenience. We refrain from letting him know more than he has to, and I'm sure he extends us the same courtesy."

[thechillyacademic]

Even listened to Marluxia's assessment of Szayel and couldn't find it in himself to disagree with any of it. He was faux-pleasant and genuinely curious, something that Even considered a dangerous combination if you believed the former. He seemed to try and use this to weedle information out of people about themselves or others. Due to this, Even had been deliberately cagey on certain details, mostly those concerning his own scientific speciality.

"Our primary ally, or your primary ally?" He asked, wanting to make sure.

Just because Kuja was allied with Marluxia and Lumi did not mean that he offered the same alliance to Ienzo or himself. Khamja was made up of a lot of disparate and overlapping groups, it seemed.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia had to give Vexen credit; he'd spotted a potential trap in what Marluxia had said. "Mine and Lumi's," Marluxia clarified, "but he's one of Khamja's primary recruiters and tends to maintain a neutral relationship at worst, with most." He maintained his gentle and ever so slightly smug smile as he headed back through the doorway, and to his parched pots outside. "He was very firmly allied with Orochimaru before his passing, so there may be an opening for you. Zexion, unfortunately, is tainted in that regard, which may make it more difficult for him."

Zexion had been used by Aizen, and may again be so employed, which made alliances with him more tenuous. The fact that Zexion was spending a lot of time with Ulquiorra of late didn't help, although it made sense for Zexion, of all people, to end up closer to the person who reminded Marluxia of Xemnas. Some things never changed.

"Of the other members that are here with any regularity," Marluxia said, "there will not be many you will consider allying yourself with."

Kadaj was basically Kuja's puppet, L was politically useless although a good resource, Gin was like curling up to sleep in a pit of vipers, and Aizen... had tools, not allies.

Marluxia would have to work out this Professor Hojo character rather quickly to see where he lay.

[thechillyacademic]

Even thought as much.

Information on battles he had got while still allied with the Order made it clear that Lumi and Marluxia had met Kuja early on. Two altercations some time apart suggested that they had stayed allied even after their initial induction into Khamja, so it wasn't difficult to see that Kuja remained their ally. They were Ryoka, oddities, and powerful both. Somebody like Kuja, influential in Khamja, would be foolish to break off the alliance.

"I thought as much," he said, trying to sound dismissive. "You are right about Professor Hojo, incidentally. He has indeed taken possession of Orochimaru's old laboratory."

Marluxia didn't seem to know for sure, but it was one thing that Even was able to confirm for certain.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia murmured to himself, and began to water the plants, giving them a liberal watering and letting the soil soak up the moisture until it was dark and fragrant again. "Orochimaru is a name you may hear a lot," he said, as if he was forewarning Vexen. "The clan is still experiencing the ripples of his passing. He was killed by Kadaj," he glanced at Vexen and smirked, "who I believe you and Saix have met. Kadaj had been little more than a bratty child who tested his boundaries, until he killed Orochimaru. Now he has to be considered more seriously. Orochimaru was a scientist, but he was also a very powerful ninja who collected jutsu and studied kekkei genkai," Marluxia only hesitated very slightly at the formation of those unfamiliar words. "He was supposedly a formidable opponent."

It was a warning, really. Vexen knew Kadaj, and Kadaj's little cadre, and the terms of their familiarity weren't pleasant ones. Kadaj's cadre wouldn't be allowed to touch Vexen, of course, but Kadaj himself, well....

"Fortunately, Kadaj left the Palace shortly after and has yet to return, so you don't have to be concerned with him at present."

[thechillyacademic]

Even listened and nodded at the information. It was interesting information, but it wasn't new information.

"I have met Kadaj," he said, giving a shrug and a shake of the head. "For a given value of 'met'. If I recall correctly, and I'm fairly sure I do, he used a particularly nasty status ailment on Saix in the midst of battle the last time I did."

He still had no idea what that status ailment was, but it had laid Saix very low for rather a long time and had defeated him where Grimmjow, his usual nemesis, fell very, very short. Kadaj was undoubtedly dangerous. Even so...

"Kadaj did not defeat Orochimaru on his own though, did he?" He raised his eyebrows. "Szayel informed me that he teamed up with an Arrancar by the name of 'Nnoitra' in order to do so."

[gracefuldahlia]

So Szayel had already been filling Vexen in on the clan gossip. Marluxia allowed himself a smile at that information.

"Nnoita is Orochimaru's nephew, as well as one of the Arrancar," Marluxia said. "Considering he doesn't ordinarily get along with Kadaj's group, the team up was unexpected." Marluxia frowned slightly before he added, "Though, given their victim, not inconceivable. The tale they told was of Kadaj having tested his usual boundaries, getting into an argument with Orochimaru which escalated, and then Nnoitra happened upon the ruckus and came to assist. How likely that is," Marluxia trailed off, and flashed Vexen a glance. Vexen would come to his own conclusions after meeting the pair, most likely.

"The timing certainly went in their favour," Marluxia said, softly. "Nnoitra was one of the very few Arrancar left behind while the others attended to their mission at Midgar." He looked at Vexen, "It was on the return from that mission that a handful of them ran across Axel and Saix and the girl they were with." He wondered if Vexen would catch that lead, too, or if it would slip by him. "Meaning that all of Nnoitra's superiors were absent at the time."

[thechillyacademic]

Even had been told by Marluxia himself that Axel and Saix had been seen together in the field and that they had fought the Arrancar, but he hadn't mentioned a girl back in Daguerreo.

Nevertheless, it did make some sort of sense. Saix had gone with Axel to Midgar to rescue ... someone. He hadn't been given the details, but he knew of the reason behind the excursion. Some intel had come about regarding the impending destruction of Bancour's capital city and the two had gone off, against Even's wishes, on a rescue mission. Shortly after, Even had walked out on the Organization, and on Saix.

He never did learn how that rescue had turned out. He was fully aware that Midgar had fallen -- that news had been far reaching. Given that he knew that they had both survived, it did leave the question of whether they had done what they'd set out to do, and this conversation had answered it.

Even so, something that Marluxia said stuck out enough to drag Even's attention away from the subject of the girl.

"Wait," he said, holding up a hand at the end of Marluxia's sentence. "Nnoitra was left behind while the rest of the Arrancar were away on a mission at Midgar?" He frowned. "That was where Saix and Axel were going when I left."

It was entirely possible that Khamja knew about Axel and Saix's movements in that direction, but if they didn't, it was certainly interesting information.

[gracefuldahlia]

He caught it. Marluxia smiled like a snake and nodded his head, just the once. That was an interesting detail, however. Axel and Saix had been a chance encounter in the field on the return. What they'd been doing out there was unknown; it wasn't as though the Arrancar had stopped to ask.

He tilted his head and looked at Vexen, carefully. "Why were they going to Midgar?" He asked.

As far as Aizen, and anyone else knew, no one outside of Khamja had known anything about what was to befall Midgar, or what had befallen Midgar. Had Axel and Saix coincidentally been in the area in the immediate aftermath? Had they been to Midgar and left prior, perhaps? Either way, they were a factor that hadn't been considered.

[thechillyacademic]

Even, almost incapable of keeping his face tactically blank, frowned thoughtfully at the look Marluxia gave him.

He looked off into the distance, eyes briefly glassy, clearly thinking about something that didn't fall into his field of vision. He glanced behind him at the question and up and at the windows on the second floor of the closest part of the palace, making sure that there was very definitely nobody in the vicinity listening to anything that they shouldn't be, not that he expected Marluxia's lair to be easy to overhear. Satisfied, he indicated the interior of the greenhouse and took a step forward into the unpleasant humidity.

"They were going on a rescue mission," he said, quietly. "They got wind of an impending attack on Midgar and headed off to get somebody out. The girl you mentioned, I presume. They didn't leave with anybody, so unless they met with a member of an affiliated Clan on the road, I can only surmise that their rescue went according to plan."

Before giving Marluxia the chance to speak, he folded his arms.

"Khamja was responsible for Midgar's fall, then." He said, the set of his jaw giving him a very unimpressed air.

He hadn't cared about the potential loss of life when Saix had said that somebody was planning to blow Midgar up, except for the fact that Saix was going into a potentially dangerous location on the word of Axel, of all people. An identity hadn't been given as to the "somebody" and nobody, at least to Even's knowledge, had claimed the atrocity in the name of any specific terrorist group.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia finished watering his plants as if he wasn't in any great hurry, and then followed Vexen back into the greenhouse. To an outside observer, it would look like something inside had caught Vexen's eye, but it wasn't so important that Marluxia had hurried in to follow.

He listened to Vexen with a calm, flat expression. They got wind of an impending attack on Midgar, did they? Marluxia could only approach that statement with healthy suspicion. Khamja had a leak, if news had reached Saix and Axel, but who would warn them?

Unless they weren't the ones being warned. There was someone in Khamja at the time, who knew about the plan, and who might have torn loyalties, or even a reason to warn certain individuals.

He nodded again, just that one dip of his head, at Vexen's statement. "They were, although only a handful were the primary architects and informed of the entirety of the plan." Aizen, and L, from the sound of things had been a facilitator.

He looked at Vexen very seriously. "I wouldn't mention this information to the rest of the clan. No one outside of Khamja was supposed to know about it. Even those inside Khamja," such as himself, "have been kept in the dark about details. They may suspect our newer members if they hear of a leak."

Zexion.