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]

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.

[thechillyacademic]

Even turned around to look at Marluxia when he said that, eyes a little wide, eyebrows raised slightly.

"You mean Ienzo," he said, his mouth set in a line.

He didn't look defensive, or protective. Ienzo was his own person, more than capable of making decisions and figuring out his own plans. Nobody who had been at Castle Oblivion could deny that, least of all Even. Even so, he was confused.

"I thought he didn't have any freedom here," he pointed out. "How could he be the one responsible for the leak?"

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia shook his head. "I doubt he'd use any method we might easily guess," he said, "but if you expect he walked away from the Order without maintaining some form of contact with Lexaeus, then I've misjudged you both." And Lexaeus, for that matter. "Regardless, he's the one that is least trusted, and would be the first to fall under suspicion."

Zexion was an alchemist, and a powerful one, and he was also the newest, but he'd arrived in enough time, had enough warning of the plans at Midgar, and had enough ties to The Order that he'd be the first suspicion fell upon.

"Besides which," Marluxia said, smoothly, "the information that there has been a leak is sensitive." He flicked a smile at Vexen. "It would almost certainly put Axel and Saix on some very important hit lists, as well as Zexion."

And the rest of The Order.

"Of course, if Zexion isn't the source of the leak," he continued, thoughtfully, "then it's possible there's another rogue element within Khamja who has reasons to make our lives difficult." In which case, they had a problem. It would be good to know if they did have a problem, or if it had just been Zexion being somewhat sentimental.

[thechillyacademic]

When Ienzo left, he had severed ties with The Order, to Even's knowledge. He'd heard stories that he had practically begged Lexaeus to join him, but that he'd been refused. Since Ienzo's capture by Khamja, nobody had seen hide nor hair of him, though he didn't doubt that Lexaeus would want to remain in contact, even though the defection had been hard on him. How that could have happened when Ienzo was supposedly practically a prisoner of Khamja really was anyone's guess.

Rogue elements in Khamja sounded fairly likely, at any rate. From what he'd heard, from inside and out of it, it was hardly a harmonious Clan. In-fighting was a serious problem, and sometimes a fatal one, so what was to say that they couldn't have dubious loyalties?

"And who is that likely to be?" Even asked, raising his chin slightly. On anybody else, the look would have been challenging, but on Even it wasn't.

He didn't know many members of Khamja. Nobody had been forthcoming with the identities of many of the members, not even now he was within the walls of the Desert Palace. He didn't even know who the Arrancar answered to.

[gracefuldahlia]

If someone asked Marluxia to name someone in the clan who was underhanded, and had esoteric motives for their actions which wouldn't be divined by any form of logic with which Marluxia was familiar, one name readily came to mind.

"Gin, perhaps," he said, quietly. "He certainly had the information required. Kuja may have, but he has no reason to wish Zexion's elimination." And Aizen wouldn't have risked his own plans, nor would he have bothered setting anyone up when he could conveniently have an Arrancar murder Zexion on an excursion with the excuse that he'd tried to escape. "L is another possibility, but in that case, Zexion would be collateral damage rather than the intended target." L had been against Midgar, and he had the information involved, and he disliked Aizen, but he'd also worked on the mission keeping word of Khamja's involvement suppressed. Would he have risked failure?

[thechillyacademic]

Any number of people, then. That wasn't particularly encouraging.

"So what you're suggesting," he said, carefully, "is that it could be anybody, up to and including Ienzo."

It could prove to be a problem. If it was Ienzo, it could prove to be a problem for them, depending on his motives. He could be passing information from Khamja to the Order and, potentially, not doing so the other way. Even doubted that he was informing Xigbar about them, but it was possible. If anything, news on the impending fall of Midgar was being passed to Lexaeus, probably out of guilt. Regardless, if it was him and it became known, Even himself could be thrown in a suspicious light. Ienzo had not wanted to join Khamja, and Even had done so willingly, for the freedom that Ienzo lacked. He did not want to be considered a traitor because of an associate's actions.

If it wasn't him ... Khamja had much bigger problems.

He sighed, heavily. He'd been in the Palace for a day and he already felt like he was embroiled in the multi-sided political nonsense he'd come to associate with Castle Oblivion.

"What is your alliance with Ienzo like?" He narrowed his eyes. "I know you have one, because you said at Daguerreo that he has been teaching you how to produce your Weapon, but what do Khamja think you have?"

[gracefuldahlia]

What Marluxia was suggesting, he thought, was that in his opinion it was probably Zexion, and if it wasn't then they had no more than vague suspicions of who it might be. Which was a view that the rest of Khamja would likely take if the news of a leak broke.

He smirked faintly at Vexen's question, however. The alliance he actually had with Zexion was built on a sense of better-the-devil-you-know, and mutual interest. A large part of that mutual interest was in keeping information about themselves quiet from the rest of Khamja. But how did it appear to the others?

"Khamja will expect an alliance," he said, "but we speak infrequently, if cordially, and they are aware that we were not on the best of terms before our reunion. If I were to turn and betray Zexion, I doubt it would surprise anyone." It might cause ripples if Zexion were to turn and betray him, however; Marluxia let himself be seen as the nastier, scheming type. It didn't suit anyone to let the rest of Khamja know The Cloaked Schemer was the otherwise inoffensive looking alchemist that everyone thought was being held and manipulated so expertly.

[thechillyacademic]

"They think he has formed an alliance with you because you were the one familiar face in the Clan," he said, looking thoughtful. "You're allowing them to underestimate both of you."

That was useful. They were seen as allies, but it was known to enough of Khamja's members that they were an alliance of necessity that it made Ienzo look desperate for common ground. They had no idea that Ienzo was not the sweet, put-upon prisoner that they clearly took him for, or that Marluxia needed him for certain things. They saw him as a weaker one of the Ryoka, who was tentatively allied with Marluxia because ... really, what else did he have?

"And they will know that I am less likely to have an underlying ... problem with him, due to our previous affiliation?" He asked. "And you and I? The same as Ienzo and yourself?"

He certainly didn't intend to spend much time in Marluxia's company. He was looking forward to the scientific freedom that Khamja promised to provide, the library's research resources and plenty of distance between him and The Order.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia's smile at Vexen's response was genuine and smugly dangerous. Vexen could play politics better than he'd bothered to, which Marluxia had suspected with the circumstances and events at Castle Oblivion. He'd been outmanoeuvred of course, but he wasn't some wide eyed fool.

Good.

"How you wish to let them view your own alliance with Zexion is your own affair. Khamja at large are already aware that you hold even less affection for me than he does. As far as they're concerned, my desire to bring you into the clan was down to my holding a larger enmity for the rest of the Order than I do for you, and a desire to remove one of their better resources from their grasp, and coincidentally bring it into ours." He smirked at Vexen. "I'll admit, it isn't entirely untrue, but they don't have to know anything more than that."

[thechillyacademic]

Even gave one careful nod.

He could work with that. He didn't trust Marluxia, but he did trust him more than anybody else in the Clan, at the moment. He had more to lose by killing him than he had to gain and that seemed to be what their own alliance would be resting on. Good.

"Of course," he said.

Ienzo and himself had been friends in the Order and they had left, largely, for the same reason. Ienzo wouldn't have known about Axel, but that was unlikely to be much of a problem, Even thought. Saix had been the catalyst that had led to them both parting ways with that clan, not Axel.

"And what of ... Lumi?" He scowled at him. Lumi was a Ryoka, but he wasn't an ex-Nobody. "Does he hold the same alliances as you? Are they aware that he isn't the same as we are..?"

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia shook his head. "At present they have no concept of there being different kinds of Ryoka. I'm sure it will come as a surprise to find that there are more worlds and their inhabitants out there than there are species here." Marluxia's experience of the locals had been that they tended to be a bit willfully ignorant on that front, but it suited Marluxia to let people assume that all Ryoka were the same except for a collection of nebulous abilities that meant the glaring differences between himself and Lumi never warranted comment.

"Lumi is subservient," Marluxia said, despite it being a lie, but it was certainly how he appeared to everyone, and it suited them both to let everyone, including Zexion and Vexen, think that way, "if not subordinate. He will keep to alliances on my part."

Unless he really didn't want to, Marluxia thought, but Lumi was refreshingly intelligent and practical on that front. He'd only break an alliance that wasn't useful, or that posed a threat, which was, conveniently enough, exactly the sort of alliance Marluxia would break, too.

[thechillyacademic]

That didn't surprise Even in the slightest.

He had a feeling that Marluxia had employed Lumi prior to their ending up on Spira and it seemed that, while the employment was unlikely to continue, as such, Marluxia had remained in charge. He was the type to enjoy having somebody powerful and dangerous working under him, Larxene was evidence enough of that.

"Fair enough," he said, shrugging. "They will find out," he said, in regards to there being more than one type of Ryoka and sounding confident in that. "Possibly not soon, but they will. There's a Ryoka in the Order who is nothing like the rest of us, including your pet."

Noir.

It was ... very different. They would never be able to keep the lie going after it was seen in battle, Even was perfectly sure of that much. It wasn't a problem, as such, because the idea that they were all the same was a conclusion they had drawn, not something explicitly put out their by one of their number.

"Is there anything else I should be made aware of?"

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia wasn't concerned about them eventually realising that not all Ryoka were the same. It was something they'd face eventually, but it was also a factor they may have to use to explain weapon generation, and why natives wouldn't be able to do it. Lumi hadn't attempted to learn the technique, as far as Marluxia could determine, but he was half curious as to whether he could.

"I don't believe so," Marluxia said. "The only other member frequently here is Aizen. The Arrancar are his concern, so if Szayel bothers you," Marluxia smiled, cruelly. "You can either freeze him to a nearby wall, or address his owner directly."

[thechillyacademic]

Even frowned slightly at the name, but it didn't ring any serious bells.

"I'll keep that in mind," he said, shrugging. "Szayel is probably going to be a low-level concern, for the time being. He attempted to convince me to set up a laboratory close to the servants quarters where the subordinates are housed. I can't imagine why that is."

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia made an amused noise. "Szayel is more of an irritation than a concern," he admitted. "I'm sure you'll put him in his place." As so many had before Vexen came along.

"You're already looking for a laboratory location?" He asked, slightly curious and tilting his chin up with the question.