A Meeting Between Leaders

Markus thought long and hard on this as armond and enrya spoke. He had many questions to ask but he knew the answer. His conclusion was final and was contemplating the right words to be spoken. He finally found them as basic as they were.

"The quincy will not be apart of this alliance... My kind has been stabbed in the back before and it wont happen again. Don't see me as a threat however, my goal is to kill Sin too and I'll use any method I can to do so. i hope you don't find my reply hostile, I just can't make an alliance with someone who hasn't laid a finger to help out my people and has lived in a paradise such as this for so long..." Markus replied with a cold look on his face.

"Ah. It would seem you are in need of a history lesson. You think Italy was always like this? That I stumbled upon this building with it's technology? That the money I possess fell from the sky? No. Wrong. I bled, killed, and cried for what I have now. Italy was trash before I came here. Overrun with Hollow. Sin allowed me Italy, and I don't care why. But do not assume that it was always like this. I came here poor, and worked my way up. For only a mere hundred years Italy has been like this. That is nothing. In those hundred years, I have been trying to find a way to reach others. And had I know that your kind was stuck in District 3 I would have helped. But my race comes first, as I am sure you can understand. I had no way of contacting people outside of Italy, so I had to use my sister and the Italians to build the House of Masks. It was no small feat, and after all that time it finished."

Armond looked at Markus with serious eyes. Armond didn't believe in second chances. He never gave them. If Markus walked out of here, he knew what would happen. "Sin death is the solution. I had to fight him to protect my race. My only objective is to destroy Sin. This is war, boy. There is no gray area. You are either a friendly or a hostile. Look into the future, not the now. What will you do after this? Where will you go after this meeting? What will happen? I can promise you that this house will fade from your mind after you leave here. Italy and Egypt will be hostile territories meaning that all places you go your kind will be rejected. You will have no true home. Also, you seek to kill a King who doesn't leave his throne. How do you plan on getting there?" Humans were so annoying...You try to help them, and they reject you because of something that you had nothing to do. It gave Armond a headache to deal with such creatures. But he had to suck it up for the sake of the greater good.

"You will make another enemy if you do this, Markus. Mr. Vega has already offered his alliance. Between his people, mine, Enrya's, and Sin's, who do you plan on going to for support? What support can you have? Earth is in shambles, and we in this room are making hard choices, sucking up pride, letting go of the past, to make way for a brighter future. You still hold onto grudges." He shook his head and sighed. "Vizards have always been at war with the Shinigami and the Arrancar. Nobody likes anybody. Despite this fact, captains and seated officers alike have welcomed me, knowing full well what I am. One war hundreds upon hundreds of years ago, shouldn't effect fragile and important decisions today."

He turned his back to Markus and looked out the window. "If you are truly willing to throw the Quincy race into a war without any support AGAIN, then may you rest peacefully with the blood of your kind on your hands. If you would rather live through this peace you can obtain with us and fight along side us to kill our enemy, then so be it. I will not speak for the others on this...but..." Armond turned to look at him with empty eyes. "If you so much as pick your nose in the direction of a Vizard, your race will be picked off strategically, carefully, and painfully. Enemies are not just people who oppose you, they are people that can cause harm to you. An alliance built upon hate is a fragile one. An alliance built upon friendship, trust, and sense is a long lasting one. I will ask you once more to look beyond the acts of thousands of years ago, and look to the future. I will ask you once more to act on behalf of your Race, not just yourself. I will ask you to join us once more. If you refuse, I will have to accept you as an enemy, and after you leave Italy, you're life shall be fair game..."

He was actually looking out for Markus. He wished he could make him understand even a little bit. "After this war, you may do as you wish. At least with us, you have a chance. By yourself, it is literally you against the world. What chance will you have? The odds of your death with us are slim. Alone? What can you hope to accomplish...No funding, no base of operation, no safe haven...I beg you not to make the same mistake your ancestors and our" --he made a gesture to signify he meant Enrya's and his own-- "ancestors made. Please, think on this for at least tonight. If you feel this way in the morning I will let you go without a word. That is my offer to you." He was trying hard. He needed this to work. He needed Markus on board with them.

He listened to Armonds rather long speech without interruption. He also knew that Italy was surely not as grand as it used to be but armond had been only able to do so for one reason: Sin hadn't interfered. Otherwise the vizard would be just as little as as underpopulated as his race was.

"On one condition... You get my people out of district 3. Only then will I help you. We don't even need to stay here, just out of that hell hole is enough." Markus said finally out of some time. He remained quite afterwords.

Amond smiled politely and nodded. "Of course I will do my very best and you are welcome to stay here if you wish. It is the least I can do for your cooperation." Armond looked at his sister, and then back to Markus. "And my sister? Do you wish for an alliance with the shinigami? Or will you be okay with me? And you are more than welcome to stay here if you wish. It wouldn't be any problem. It would actually be more beneficial probably."[/color] He smiled and looked to Paul. "By the way, Mr. Vega. You and I have some business to go over in the lowest basement of the House. Markus, the same business will be discussed with you after Vega." He smiled at The two boys and leaned against the wall behind his seat which Karma sat in.

Paul Vega just sat there glancing at the two discuss things, he wasnt realy paying attention. He was actually thinking in his head which of the two would prove a better fighter.

"This talk is pointless, if the quincy doestn want to join then let him be. His people would stand by him I presume. You just wont get to stay in this fancy headquaters." Paul said jockingly.

Later on when Marcus finally agreed to join forces with them. Paul stood up and was about to head out the door. Armond said that he had business with him in the basement. Paul raised an eyebrow at this. "Business...ive been here for twenty minutes tops and we have business already...in the basement. Fine I guess whatever, but it better not be no freaky stuff."

Paul was again about to take off his shirt, and he didnt stop himself like he did last time. He remembered what Armond said about it ealier, and then stopped himself. He shook his head and sighed. "I gotta stop doing that like seriously." He grabbed his jacket and swung it over his shoulder. "Alright so lets get going...this is boring now."

Armond looked at Paul. He flared his reiatsu to a choking degree. "Sit. You'll leave when we are done. If you want to stand a chance against Sin's weakest member you will do as I say. You have no idea what we're up against, and we are only as strong as our weakest member. Want to live to even see Sin, let alone the Soul Society? Then sit your ass down, and wait." When he was done he restricted his reiatsu some and looked to Markus. "My apologies Markus. But the same goes for you. You want to be strong, you NEED to be strong. Sin's weakest members could crush you and Mr. Vega without any effort. That is where I come in. I have edited my basement to be used for...special training. It's coated in Seki stone, restricting the use of any kido and solidifying platforms in the air. Another area of my basement is not. Mr. Vega has no use for the seki area. You on the other hand do. When Mr. Vega and I are done with his training, yours will begin." He looked at Paul and shook his head. "I highly recommend you get a control on your emotions and temper. Those will be the death of you in the presence of Sin."

"Oh my oh my oh my... Already onto the topic of Sin, are we, Armond." a voice echoed through the room, a strange reiatsu filling the local area as a black nothingness appeared shortly behind Armond. Through the darkness, a pair of blood-red eye's peered through at each individual, taking no more than a second to move from one to another. Stepping forwards, the figure of Methias Stelligar appeared, a black trench-coat sitting upon his shoulders. His black hair almost made him look mildly demonic, yet he was definately a good looking man. Looking back for no more than a few moments, the darkness closed behind him, the Garganta had served its purpose.

"Appologies for being late. I am Methias Stelligar, and I will be assisting you all. From what I have gathered, each of you are of high ranking upon those who share your abilities... And as such, don't expect to be taken lightly." Methias said, before folding his arms across his chest. He wasn't a leader, but his voice sounded somewhat as if he had years of training and experience in a leading field. Truth be told, Armond may well have had something to say about Methias' tone after the meeting, but for now, Methias felt he would simply back up Armonds words, and await further orders. He was willing to train the ones who required it, infact, he was willing to do whatever was asked of him. To say he owed Armond his life would be the truth. Nodding to indicate he had finished what he had to say, he awaited orders.

"My dear, Methias. It's always a pleasure when you join me. Lord knows I'd be lost without you at my side." He turned to embrace his oldest friend, next to Enrya of course. He wasn't at all mad at Methias' tone. He just shrugged at it. It was true that Methias had been around the block. One could argue that he knew more of the harshness of the world than Armond did. One could also argue that it didn't matter since their world revolved around the Hollow's now, and in that case Armond had a bit of a leg up. He didn't have much, but he was a captain before Methias. "Methias. I'm sure you heard already. When we are done here, please escort Mr. Markus to the seki stone training ground. Just train with him for an estimate of his abilities in both hand-to-hand and ranged...When done, please have one of the servants prepare a room for Mr. Markus, and Vega." It wasn't an order, Methias was free to decline. Armond was just used to having Methias do a lot of things for him. It comes from their childhood. Old habits die hard.

Smirking slight as Armond let go of him, he began to look at each of the others in the room, before moving on to take note of their hands. He noticed that one appeared to be wearing a Sanrei glove. This was the sign of a Quincy who had gone through their highest level of training, and due to this, Methias instantly knew whom he was to train with. A Quincy... A Shinigami's bitter rival, due to the disagreement they have with one another's choice of dealing with Hollows. This Vizard, however? He wasn't like most Shinigami. His time spent away from the Gotei Thirteen had left him with more leniency towards other races, going as far as to see things as they do. Due to this, he had become more sympathetic during the last one hundred years. Stretching slightly, he let out another yawn. While Methias may have slept through Armond and Gemini's fight, and a few hours before that, he was still recovering from a seventy-two hour session of being awake, hunting hollows in America in order to slim their population. His mission of course noted that he would not be seen, and he wasn't. He was good at what he did. Even the enhanced humans needed a helping hand now and again.

Looking up and down the Quincy, Methias nodded to himself slightly, before quickly analysing what he himself thought would be the case of the spar he was soon to have. "Hmm... Seeing as he's a Quincy, and a good one based on the glove his wearing, I am sure his ranged techniques will be vastly superior to any other ranged attacker. Quincy's specialize in ranged attacks, as I am sure you are aware. Due to this reliance, I can see him being around as good as a seventh seat, eleventh division Shinigami in melee combat. His reactions may be quick, but I believe he will feel the pressure if he comes up against a strong hand to hand fighter. Due to this simple fact, he will likely fight by using any and all abilities to slow his opponents down from range, and probably be constantly moving in order to cause an issue for the opponents to hit him. If this training proves to support what I believe, I will personally teach him how to handle hand to hand situations in a more suitable manner. However, I may be surprised... So we can hope."

After speaking, he light out a light sigh, as if to indicate he had just said a mouthful. Truth be told, Methias was very talented at analysing people, which often ended up with him having an advantage against many an opponent. However, today, he made a pont of saying it so that the Quincy could hear it. Why? So he knew what to expect. This wasn't going to be a real battle, and as such, Methias felt that it would create a certain friction that would allow the Quincy to try and prove Methias wrong. Nodding at Armond, he simply listened to what was to be said from this point onwards.

"That is very true, Methias...But it never hurts to see just how far along one is in their own path. Especially in a time like this." Armond looked at Markus for a moment and then at Vega. "I have another meeting to be at. A leader's work is never done." He smiled. "I apologize. Vega, please make yourself at home. Italy is yours to roam. But you do not have access to Tore Morte unless I am with you. I think you might enjoy the Colosseum. There are public fights there always going on. It's a good place to get some training in. Markus, I leave you in the care of Methias. Worry not, he is my most trusted friend, and that doesn't come with ease." He leaned down to kiss his sister on the cheek next. "I am sorry that our reunion had to be filled with business. I have arranged transportation for you. I'll give you a call later on today. I promise I'll see you soon under...more pleasant conditions." He smiled and bowed before everyone. He then gave Methias a pat on the shoulder. "Behave." He chuckled and tapped the air away from everyone. A line formed then opened up into a Garganta. He turned and waved to everyone casually with his back to them "Ta." He stepped into the portal and it closed behind him.


:: EXIT ::

Methias opens his eye's, looking at everyone once more. Apparently, he had fallen asleep shortly after Armond had left. But something had woken him up, yet he wasn't sure what it was. Shaking his head, he felt a slight vibration on his leg. Quickly moving his hand to it, he revealed a phone, much akin to Armond's.

'Cafe Morte. Chevalier is the name of the man. Fight him. I have business in Egypt. When you're done call me. Chevalier isn't a true Shinigami, he lives with William in Prussia. Send him back to Prussia about ten miles away from the Castle after the fight. See ya when I get back. Try not to let him ruin your pretty little face.'

"Understood. I'll be there shortly." He replied, before putting down the phone and placing it back in his pocket. "Treat this place as you would your own. As of now, I have urgent business to take care of. So rest, you'll need it for when your training begins." and with that final word, another Garganta opened, before Methias left.

[exit]

Karma smiles and stands up from where she sat before she bowed to both of the males that were left here with her. "It was a pleasure to meet you two as well as to work with you. Please excuse me, as I must make my way back to Egypt. I will see you both later. Stay safe." She said with a warm smile and a lovely voice before she left the room.

[Exit]

Markus was just about to get up from his seat when the one known as methias received his phone call and left. He didn't want to be to much of a burden so he walked out of the room and went about looking through the manor, then headed outside to catch some air.


-----EXIT

Vega was the last person in the room, and he just stood there almost still. He was grinning under his loose hair that kind of covered his face when it was done and not tied. He stood there silent through all the comotion and new entrences. There was only one thing on his mind.

He pressed his the heel of his feet hard on the floor and they cracked, he was building up a massive amount of spiritual pressure his reitsu was flowing and near horrifying. The cracks were going on leading up into the walls. "Just who does he think I am." Paul said he didnt shout it only said in his own tone of voice. Armond's word to him, was still echoing in his head.

"Not even stand a chance against his weakest member eh, It is wrong to judge a book by its cover Armond. Soon you shall know exactly what that means."
With that Paul went to the window, and opened it wide. In a moment he was gone, out of sight. But he left a note on Armond's desk. Maybe Armond wont even see it, but he left it there for his own fun.

I can't wait till training...

(Exit)