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[Timmy : Hook's Ship]

The boy finally found a barrel still intact and took a seat on it. Soon afterward, Cory came back out onto the deck and found Timmy. Cory gave him the lecture about using the Darkness as a tool and not as a source of power because he may lose himself to it. Timmy felt like he knew what he was doing, and would rather try to ignore Cory's lecture. Without any time to respond the Ronin was off again, disappearing into the cabins.

"Tch, I'm not gonna lose myself to the Darkness." he mumbled to himself. "I definitely will not..." He mumbled again, showing his old self for the first time since Alice had messed with the boy's heart. He sat there wondering all while starring into the distance past the side of the ship.

[ Ajora ; Kefka : ??? : Dark Tower ]

Ajora's expression remained the same, a stoic, analytical facade. His eyes, however, betrayed his heart: they seemed almost to glow with intensity after hearing her explanation. An army. An endless army of memory-stealing, shape-shifting minions. Sure, the end-effects could backfire, ala Prote, but the short term...

"Well, you've got me on a leash," he said jokingly, chuckling under his breath as he shook his head, the messy hair going to and fro. "Such a powerful ability could definitely come in handy... actually, it'd be handy now-"

"Pffft, with your little plan, right?" Kefka interrupted condescendingly, grabbing the Geist by its hands and swirling it around the room. "With the little toy of Seymour's. Which is ready, by the way. Almost used it as firewood, but figured your use might be more entertaining."

"It will be, I promise, but with these beauts, it would be so much more... chaotic," Ajora responded, letting the last word roll off his tongue almost seductively as he glanced at Kefka. "Besides, Xaldin and his allies will be taking an active role because of their promised ally. The entire fiasco promises to be nothing short of hellish-"

At that point, another corridor of Darkness opened up in the middle of the room. From inside came a medium-height being, entirely hidden behind a black, hooded cloak. She turned her head, gazing at the people within the room before setting her eyes on Ajora.

"The Maester has news," the woman spoke, her voice dull and almost morose. "Hawaii. The group in China goes to Hawaii next."

"Ugh, more rude intrusions," Kefka muttered, tossing the Geist at the nearest wall, where it merely bounced off and fell to the ground. The clown looked to Maria with a dull look. "I swear, these Replicas just have no manners."

With just a nod from Ajora, the woman disappeared, and he seemed to mutter a curse underneath his breath. "Well, @#$%, sorry about that. Basically, I just want a Geist army. It would benefit everyone in the long term, but considering that's your turf, it's your turn, gorgeous," he said, looking to Maria with a somewhat annoyed look, admitting he was done with his little tangent.

[Alan :: LoD :: Forbidden City]

Alan was not unaware of the look Seymour gave him, but he gave no indication of anything. The boy could have an excellent poker face when he wanted to.

Turning to Nick, he figured some introductions were in order. "A pleasure meeting you, Nicholas," he said. "My name's Alan." Alan was dimly aware that his mannerisms were slipping into his 'courtliness' mode, a mode which was far more advanced in him than in most people his age - at least partially a result of his job in the local courthouse.

So he's a stranger to the group, then.

Alan returned his attention to Seymour. "For what it's worth, I agree with Riku. I would be surprised if you didn't encounter significant hostilities in Hawaii." He paused briefly before continuing. "And, also, I'd very much like to know what group that man represents, and what his true purpose was. He must have known that he wouldn't persuade anyone like that, and considering your presence, Maester," Alan bowed very slightly as a show of deference, "I can't imagine he truly thought that his assault would do more than put everyone on guard. Unless that was his intent."

Alan decided not to voice his other theories concerning the warrior's intentions. 'Putting everyone on guard' seemed like the most likely, anyway, although why he'd want to do that, Alan had no idea.

[ Ajora ; Kefka : ??? : Dark Tower ]

"PFFFFT," Ajora sputtered, almost immediately bursting into laughter for a few moments, as if she'd told some funny joke. "I think you gravely over-estimate yourself, witch, or you're under-estimating me. I may not know much about you, but I know that little Fae magic you got from Kefka's pet is, at best, an annoyance, and these Geists are mere playthings."

"I wasn't to be made a plaything of Seymour. What in the nine hells makes you think I'd bend over backward for you? I am, at worst, your equal. I'm asking for the Geists because it would make things easier, not because they're required," he finished off, leaning back against a wall, his smirk remaining. "Besiiiides, we're allies, not business partners. What do you have to lose by bolstering my brethren and myself? Time? You're an undying fae now."

[ Ajora ; Kefka : ??? : Dark Tower ]

"If you'd had so much power before, why on earth taint it with the annoyance of Fae limitations? Why bother with a contract at all, when you can just do it all yourself?" he replied with a confident shrug of his shoulders, as if the answer had been so blatantly obvious. "My guess is, if anything, Kefka got bored of the wretch. He gets bored ever so easy. That's why I try to liven things up."

"I do like to not be bored," Kefka said matter-of-factly; he was now sitting upside down on the ceiling, sipping some sort of drink.

"Besides, listen to your own advice. So you may know how I was born. You may even have had a gander at my previous performances," he continued, now looking at his fingernails as a distraction from his own boredom. To be honest, he just missed arguing. His brethren didn't care enough to argue, or got far too barbaric far too fast. There was an art to this sort of thing. "If that's the case, you'd be a fool to think you have an adequate gauge on my power- on the powers of those like me. And that's my point- don't simply assume you can 'crush' me."

"Yes, your army is convenient. Nothing I can't create myself out of other creatures, such as but not limited to the Heartless," he said, once again glancing toward Maria. "But convenient nonetheless in that they can turn friend into foe so efficiently. I'm willing to hear out your little bargain, but I simply want you under no delusions of grandeur- you can crush me no easier than I could crush Kefka."

"PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT," Kefka responded, suddenly spitting out whatever he had in his mouth all over the floor below in between the two. However, before any sort of laughter could be heard, the jester-mage was behind Maria, his lips next to her ear. "Come oooon, get things goin! It'll be so much FUN! You like fun. I like fun. I hate hate HAAAATE being bored."

[ Ajora ; Kefka : ??? : Dark Tower ]

"Well, technically, that's an impossibility," Ajora muttered with some annoyance, though it wasn't directed at her (or so it seemed as he glared at a nearby wall). "Some of the magical entities I've come into contact with in the past are either dead or protected by the Cornerstone of Light. I can't reach them, and none of my allies can, either."

"However~" he began, one side of his lips curling upward for a moment as he turned to look at the Shapeshifting Witch. "If we don't include the ones entirely out of my reach, and the ones without hair, should there be any, it sounds like we have a deal, on one condition. Considering I'll be traveling, and constantly running into magical entities, I want a constant supply of Geists."

"I think it's only fair, hmm? I get you the hair of any person with magical ability that I come across, and you grant me as many geists as I may need," he summarized, gauging her face for a reaction. "This isn't including our own allies, of course, as I'm sure they'd can just give it to you themselves- Kuja aside."

[Timmy : Hook's Ship]

The boy's distant gaze was interrupted by a woman's voice from behind. His heart nearly skipped a beat out of surprise as he fell forward out of his seat. He sat up on the deck and stared at the amused woman.

"Geez! You scared the living daylights out of me! I thought you were a ghost for a second..." Timmy sighed with relief, but a thought struck the boy as he listened to her. "Who exactly are you?" he said while getting up and brushing himself off. "And what do you mean by 'prefer a leash'?!" he snapped angrily at the woman.