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"...Broker?" The Nobody blinked, giving Ajora- no, Adam, a look of confusion and concern as they followed along at his beckoning. The stranger's face remained neutral, but the Nobody stared at Adam as they moved, body somewhat tense as they made their way to whatever destination the Replica had in store.

As the mention of a new name, the Nobody paused for a moment and stopped their walk. What name did they want to go by? It had to be something befitting their newfound freedom, but they couldn't think of anything clearly.

"...I could not tell you, Aj-...Adam. I will do my best to think of a name that is fitting of my new life, I suppose." They responded quietly, then picked up their pace to catch up to Adam.

The Nobody began to look extremely flustered at the conversation between Adam and Daj, eyes darting between the two rapidly before holding up their hands as Adam referred to him as 'sport'. "...Stop... Please. I have only been in existence for... I am guessing about an hour now; the two of you are overloading me with all this conversation." They gently rubbed their temples with the knuckle of their index fingers, continuing the walk despite seeming to be in distress.

"If I were to take a name, there are a few that I can barely gleam cycling through his memories." They huffed, before continuing their rant. "There is Thanatos, the Greek personification of death. If continuing that line of thought, there is also Anubis or Osiris, the Egyptian Guardian of the Dead or Lord of the Underworld, respectively. There is also Nergal, which is some culture's version of death. I could also be Morgan, named after the witch Morgan le Fay, or Mordred, son of King Arthur."

They paused for a moment, then carried on as if there had never been a stop in their thought pattern. "Of course, there is always some name from a video game. Not like there were plenty of fantasy games to choose from, if the need arose. I suppose the real question is, Adam," they looked up, staring into Adam's eyes with an almost curious expression,

"Who am I to you?"

"...I see."

The Nobody slowed their pace considerably at the cloaked figure off in the distance, calmly giving them a once over. They weren't sure of who the Broker was or their purpose, but their arms tensed in anticipation. As Adam spoke, the Nobody seemed to frown at the path of the conversation, and grit their teeth as to not interrupt the ramblings until he was done. Once complete, the stranger did their best to offer a small smile to Adam, but it seemed to hold no emotion behind it.

"I do not know who I am to be, Adam. I have no desires, I have no purpose, I do not feel. It would be almost impossible for me to try to be someone when I do not know my way around the world. I am nothing more than a... than a child in comparison to you or the Earthlings or even the villains. As difficult as it sounds, I am looking to you for guidance and understanding of the world; for my purpose here. I feel that I must depend on you for information and proper leadership to find a true path of life to follow."

The Nobody paused, and the smile slowly drained from their face. "...That sounded a little less dramatic in my head, honestly. Consider me your servant, your soldier, your confidant, your spy, your assassin... Anything you need of me, I will do without hesitation. You are a leader, Adam. You offer your kingdom as sanctuary for the lost, and you cannot deny you are in a position of high power if you are able to offer magics as you do," they paused, shifting their gaze back to the Broker, "Even if you must use a third party to do so."

They blinked again, and the Nobody once again seemed to have a small, yet still somewhat uncomfortable smile. "Consider me your helper, Adam. You may call me..."

"Ezra."

"...Adopt? Am I your child now? Must I take your surname and continue your legacy when you pass?" Ezra teased, then raised a brow. "I suppose I could be your sounding board..." The Nobody's thoughts stifled as the Broker spoke up, and they listened intently as the Broker explained the deal and Adam's additions.

When the Broker began their explanation of the geas that could, in theory, inhibit Ezra's entire will and possibly force them to do something against Adam, they recoiled slightly. Once the cloaked figure finished their speech and told the Nobody to think upon it, they immediately raised a hand.

"I have a question about the 'disguising myself' aspect of this deal. I currently lack the power to shapeshift and I do not want this form, especially if the other Earthlings were to see it. It would be not exactly in my best interest to be seen that way as well as raise many questions for Nicholas, who I suspect would already have trouble fitting in with the other Earthlings due to the whole 'Chaos' fiasco. I would request that you also add the ability to permanently shift my shape so I may have a form that would be considered more pleasing. Next, I also have a concern about the geas. I would rather have Adam in control of it than you, good Broker, as I have more or less sworn allegiance to him and although you are an ally, I cannot say that there would not be a time you and Adam would clash and the betrayal thing is not something I would like to be play out."

The Nobody paused, then turned towards Daj. "I would also like connection to Daj's network in some way, as I cannot be expected to be at Adam's side every moment, but might need some form of... conscience, if you will, to help me keep aware of the social cues or information I would be lacking if I am away from... The Garden?"

Ezra scratched their head, their fingers weaving into the thick brown curls of the Earthling whose appearance they currently held. "...I suppose that is all I can think of for now, although I am sure I will have other questions and requests. Curiosity can be a dangerous thing, supposedly."

Ezra stared at the outstretched hand of the Broker for a moment, then gently wrapped their fingers around the cloaked figure's outstretched hand and gave it a gentle shake. Before the Broker could pull their hand away, the Nobody would pull the gloved hand towards their chest, placing the hand on their chest over where the human heart would be.

"The Geas can go here, Broker." Ezra said flatly, staring where the face would be for the hooded figure. "As for the personalized Ghost, I look forward to seeing it, although I might need it small so it doesn't pull suspicion if I'm away. And, Daj, there is no need to be angry. I think you do a marvelous job and I hope to work well with you."

"Ooo, he's polite, I'm glad we're keeping him."

"Well, okay. This is gonna tingle, and I won't lie, your inner magic maaay resist and cause some discomfort," they explained. "Take a breath."

There was a moment of nothing, and then they felt the tingling, like static across their skin. And as the Broker had warned, his magic instinctively flared for the briefest of moments in response, causing a tightness in their chest; however, as they had consented, his decision cooled the magic into silence once again, allowing the brand to complete its formation. Should Ezra bare their chest, they would reveal a small, upside down triangle composed of three smaller triangles.

"So you have paid, and now shall you receive," they said, slipping their hand away and into the opposite hand's coat sleeve; they then pulled out a small vial of strange, glittery liquid, which upon consumption would taste like water. "Drink this, and you shall have all I have offered."

"Which I guess is my cue. Daj, are the crystals done yet?"

"They are, they'll be down shortly with Sharp--"

And so called, the orange-haired man appeared, his brimmed hat low as he offered up a jagged teal crystal and a smooth pearlescent gem.

"Okay, good. Take the jagged nethicite first; its power is derived from darkness, and so you must enforce your will upon it. After that, you take the smooth æthecite; derived from light, you must request its help instead."

"Am I needed anymore?" the Broker chimed in, scratching their head.

"Oh, uh, no, you're good. I'll get in touch about the contract later."

And without another word, the cloaked entity disappeared in an array of softly glowing golden dust.

"Anyway, the nethicite absorption takes awhile, but not terribly long. It just has to suffuse your form," he explained.

Ezra quietly did as they were told in regards to the crystals, gripping the nethicite tightly into their hand while holding the æthecite in their other hand palm open and up, the nethicite coating Ezra in darkness and then the æthecite bathed them in light. Once both had completed, the Nobody began their metamorphosis of a new appearance. They shrank down to about four feet in height, their brown curly hair becoming straight and shifting to a pale blond color that hung down around their face and dropped down to just above the shoulders in length. Their eyes, once blue, had the color shift into a deep indigo. The clothing they had stolen from the house in New Orleans vanished as well, becoming a simple off-white tunic that dropped down to the upper thigh with black shorts that dropped to the knee, and the slippers they once wore disappeared as well, leaving the Nobody in bare feet. The tunic had the Nobody symbol emblazoned on the back, centered squarely in the middle and stretching from just below the neck and ending at the tailbone.

Their physical features changed as well; the five o'clock shadow fading into what one would call a "baby face", and the semi-pale skin darkened slightly to make the Nobody less pale in appearance. All in all, Ezra's full appearance shifted from a six foot, three inch tall man to an androgynous eight year old child.

The Nobody looked up to Adam, Daj, and the one called 'Sharp' and pushed their bangs out of their eyes. "If I have the mind of a child, I may as well have the body of one when not in combat. After all, who expects a child to be dangerous?"

Adam walked past the automatic lab door, his expression vacant after leaving Ezra on their own. Zexion was in the room, still observing the project, making calibrations as necessary, but he was an irrelevant witness; the slave crown kept his mind blank and obedient.

So, effectively alone, Adam leaned against one of the nearby counters and held his face in his hands, sighing heavily.

I must be wary of arrogance.

You must also eschew self-doubt.

Caution keeps me from making mistakes.

Confidence assures that any such mistake can still be conquered.

"I can't just give in to that pride!" he shouted, swiveling around and waving his arm, as if Shinryu was behind him. "You saw my history! You saw my mistakes, and you know my enemies! I'm not enough yet, let alone anything akin to a leader! That's stupid, he's--they're young, faulty, misguided--"

And also utterly without emotion. They took the facts as they were perceived and stated what they see to be obvious.

"That just means I'm a good actor," Adam seethed, his voice lower now as he gripped the counter. "It means my facades are convincing."

So you were trying to be perceived as having strong leadership tendencies?

Adam opened his mouth to speak, eyes narrowed, and found... no response. He growled, mind racing for any sort of quick witted reaction, but the great dragon simply began to laugh, and so he knew his defeat.

Temporarily.

Shifting his attention, he walked over to the bio-pod, connected to all manner of various magitech and machinery, and looked over the situation.

"The specimen attained biological composure some minutes ago, so I applied the slave crown at the precise moment your calculations directed," the Nobody spoke up, standing up almost like the undead. "Assuming the Oracle was correct, you should be able to proceed as planned."

He stared past the fluids and into the closed eyes of the new lifeform. This next step would determine its fate: would it choose death, life, or execution?

Either way, his debt would be repaid at last.

Despite the endless night, the black clouds that swirled above gave off bits of cold, indigo light, especially as lightning crackled between them, thunder softly rumbling out over the desolation.

The temperatures had dropped these past few miles, she'd have noticed. Her magic scouts, fluttering ahead, reported only more of the same. She was heading somewhere quite dreary indeed; the great outcroppings of grey stone grew greater, higher, more clumped together. Most wise people would see such difficult terrain as a hindrance; she, of course, would merely see it as a blighted landscape to gently traverse, her feet ever inches above the sharper outcroppings. Most wise people would also consider traveling out of this realm their top priority, and yet she sought something deeper. Perhaps she couldn't quite place why--perhaps--but she knew that this direction felt right. The worse her surroundings, the closer she felt to the next step in her journey, wherever that may take her, so long as it led to greater knowledge, greater potential.

It's not as though she had to worry for danger. This realm was welcoming to one like her. The heartless she passed all glanced on, always did she feel those watchful eyes, but never did they approach. And the shadows were like a soft embrace; this place was infinitely more welcome than the realm of light, with every breath a new rejuvenation, every breeze a comforting caress. It was not that she could feel any significant positivity, per se, as such was beyond her heart's potential, but there need be no light or warmth to feel... welcome.

Yet, as she turned a corner amidst the road of cliffs and stone, having found herself in a rising canyon, that sense of welcome instantly dissipated, and the sense of 'right' fizzled out of her chest. In the very next moment--maybe even simultaneously--she would have registered a silhouetted figure ahead of her, cloaked in the old Organization's hooded garb. They stood still, presenting no hostility or threat, and yet their presence may still have been unsettling; after all, her scouts, her projected eyes and ears and senses, had somehow missed this person entirely.

More than that, she would have felt a familiar discomfort in her chest--an absence, a lack. Ever since the night before last, since that voice had called to her after the night of Hawaii's battle, there had been... something. An essence, a presence, some gift that had made her feel closer to whole.

Now, she was back to the same feeling she'd had since creation: incomplete. Whatever other darkness her past life had accumulated, and nothing else.

The entity simply stared at her, their face hidden by opaque shadow.

"If you do not change direction," they said, their voice a peculiar, genderless low tenor, "you may end up where you are headed."