Sora's Arcology
Roxas' Intelligence Agency

Rai Nek continued to sort the various reports that came in, showing no sign he was anyone out of the ordinary.
Of course, to the Arcology, he wasn't anyone out of the ordinary. He was Seifer, on loan to Roxas because the First that owned him had been persuaded to give him leave.
Not even Roxas himself knew that the Muren Collective had an agent on the inside, not only right under their noses, but at the heart of the nexus through which all of the information gathered by Sora's Arcology passed.
The Collective took a dim view of Sora's refusal to stop taking artefacts for the Arcology's Reliquary, and an even dimmer view of his other refusal to return a number of artefacts from the Reliquary to their rightful owners. Since a number of those artefacts also belonged to the Collective, these refusals had left him with a poor reputation among them.
Thanks to Seifer's privileged position on the inside, the Collective had been able to prevent the thefts of considerably more artefacts than before. This was especially important, now that the Collective was the only remaining significant threat to the Arcology, and Grandmaster Sora, the somewhat reluctant leader of the place, wasn't afraid to say so.
After the Collective had attempted to stop Sora from waking up Ventus, their Rai Lon had been taken out of action, requiring significant medical aid due to the unexpected attacks made by Jamie, a fifth rank who moved from First to First within the Arcology as his various investigations required. He was it's first and only official investigator, and his track record was yet to be blemished with a single failure.
Without Lon, the morale of the Collective had dropped considerably – they had thought him nigh unbeatable. Because of this, direct or open attempts against the Arcology or Sora himself were out of the question.
Only three of the Rai were left on active duty now. Himself as Rai Nek, their agent on the inside. Rai Kun, the official representative and frequent diplomat in their dealings with others. And finally, Rai Mure, descendant of the Collective's founder, and frequent source of advice. She did not and refused outright to lead them in any way, but her advice was often considered the best they could ask for.
Even if they had wanted to target Sora, the young Grandmaster had become somewhat reclusive of late, making fewer trips out of the Arcology. While he was still frequently spotted inside, handling things with his usual hands-on approach, he seldom left it now, and was also rarely seen without Kairi nearby.
But with the information Seifer provided, the Collective was now able to make preparations to counter the teams dispatched to retrieve various artefacts. Their own teams were kept to as few members as possible, and stayed out of sight until necessary. Killing was completely forbidden, but despite this rule they had caused many of the Arcology's teams to return both empty handed, and severely injured. One had been returned to the Arcology with a message from a close friend of Rai Lon for Sora, telling him that it was a form of revenge for what had happened to him. While it hadn't been authorised by the Collective, Seifer had happened to be in the same room as Sora when he'd received the message. Roxas' description of 'Somewhat irritated' may have made the list for the understatement of the year.
-Vexen has been captured- the Collective mind told him.
The Collective was unusual in this regard. They shared one mind, but remained individuals. It was like an instant phone call from and to every member at the same time. Thoughts, emotions, even entire ideas could be communicated in instants, because there was no need to use words to explain it. It was as simple as passing a piece of paper around but with thoughts instead of paper.
-The Artefacts?- Seifer silently asked, continuing in his work without showing a sign of this mental communication. He'd grown quite adept at it – but he had been a part of the Collective for some time. Had it not been for them, he would never have joined the Arcology in the first place.
-Taken. We believe Naminé will attempt to use them.-
-Impossible. For her to affect any single one of us, she would need to affect the entire Collective. She isn't powerful enough for that.-
-We know. Find out what you can from internal Arcology sources. We also require further assistance.-
-I cannot take any more from the Arcology without being noticed,- Seifer warned.
-We know,- the Collective repeated. -We plan to use Vexen's knowledge to unlock the power of darkness for ourselves.-
Seifer tried not to show his shocked surprise at this, looking around to make sure no one had seen him.
-Are you insane?- he asked incredulously. -If any one of us used them, we would all share in the effects! You could destroy the Hearts of the entire Collective!-
There was no direct response from the Collective mind, but the voice of Rai Kun spoke instead. -I call for a vote on the matter,- he said. -Each voice in the Collective will have their say for or against it. We know we must resort to stronger measures in order to continue to block Sora's Arcology. Vexen's command of darkness can solve this, but as Rai Nek has told us, it is not without cost. Will the Collective permit me to tally our votes?-
-The Collective is in agreement.- the Collective mind, Seifer included, stated. -You may hold the vote.-
This was simply a formality. Kun would give up his own vote in the matter to be the supposedly impartial counter. Originally, only one of the Rai could do this, but in more recent times it had been decided that anyone could do it, provided they also gave up their vote on whatever matter it was.
The result was a highly efficient democratic system. Unlike other democracies, there was no need to representation, because all were linked to one mind. Nothing was wasted. Votes could be carried out at any time, even while members slept, because their minds would still be a part of the Collective.
-Then I ask all voices of the Collective to send their votes to me now,- Rai Kun ordered.
Seifer sent his vote against it, of course. There were several minutes of silence from the entire Collective. Seifer poured himself a mug of strong coffee to try and settle his shaken nerves. That the Collective was even considering this course of action was unsettling enough. Of all of them, he was the one that had gone through the Arcology's complete archives of information on Nobodies, Heartless and Organization XIII. The entire Collective shared in what had been learned from him, but he was the one that had read it, and he knew better than any of them what would happen.
-The votes have been tallied,- Rai Kun announced. -Twenty-three thousand voting members. Nine hundred abstained. Fifteen-thousand and twenty eight votes in favour. Seven thousand and seventy-two against.-
-The Collective has spoken,- the Collective voice said. -The majority is in favour. We will proceed with this course,take the risk and bear the consequences. The Collective will prevail.-
Seifer opened a mental line to Kun.
-Tell me there's a mistake in the votes. Tell me you rigged it.-
-You know me better than that, Nek. Besides, the Collective would know if I did. There is no such thing as a secret among us remember.-
-Do you have any idea what this could do to us?-
-Yes. The information you provided us with was very precise. I reviewed it carefully during a quiet period.-
Seifer tried another tack. he left it hanging.-This could potentially compromise my position here, you know.-
-How so?-
-Roxas, Axel and Ienzo would undoubtedly recognise the traits of a Nobody. If I lose my Heart, and with it feelings, people are going to notice the change, and if that gets noticed by any of those three...-
-Point taken. I'll share this with the Collective. We'll develop a plan in case what you say begins to happen.-
-I don't like being a party to this, Kun. There won't be any way to regain our Hearts after this.-
-The three ex-nobodies in the Arcology grew their own Hearts. Even Ienzo, though not officially a part of the Arcology.-
-There are twenty-three thousand members in the Collective at the moment, Kun.- he answered in a pained tone. -The procedure they used has to be tailored to each specific person. It would take far too long.-
-There is another alternative.- Kun sent him an entire thought.
Seifer almost choked on his coffee when he examined it.
-Don't even suggest that ever again! Good gods, are you trying to give Sora a reason to let up and destroy us utterly?-
The Collective noticed this brief outburst, and also examined the thought.
-Rai Nek's alarm is with merit,- they announced. -We do not want to give Sora that reason. It will, however, be kept as an emergency back-up plan if we cannot find any other way to return from the darkness.-
"At least that's something," Seifer muttered out loud. He finished his drink, then left his place to find the Overseer on duty. All these shocks were starting to get to him, and he needed a break.
She was known for taking herself seriously, and with a suit and tied back hair, she looked the part as well.
"Seifer," she greeted him after flicking down to his markings on the right wrist. "What is it?"
"I've got time saved up for a long break. I'd like to take some of them now."
She examined something on her computer, then looked back over her glasses. "You're due to finish here in just one hour. I'm sure you can remain for one hour."
Through clenched teeth he replied, "Yes ma'am," and headed back. The implications of her simple statement meant he'd have to wait. It wasn't exactly an order, but he'd soon learned that their Overseer didn't let things get lax. He'd have to take the extra hour's work, and hope the Collective didn't give him any more bad news.
It wasn't easy being a spy.

Grandmaster's Quarters
Floor 199
Lounge

One of the advantages of being the owner of the Arcology, Sora decided, was that he could simply delegate things to people he trusted to handle them, then kick back and relax.
He trusted Roxas, naturally. It would be hard for him not to.
Every now and then though, something would come along that couldn't be handed down, or he just got bored and decided to take a hand in things himself.
But for now it was time to relax.
Even if he delegated, he still had to read the various reports that came in.
He'd decided to be more comfortable while he read them this time, and retreated from his office to the lounge so he could stretch out on one of the couches.
The large room wasn't exactly to his tastes. Despite his somewhat exalted position here, he remained highly against a lot of the grandness that seemed to come with it. The uppermost three floors were exclusively his, and this meant he had huge amounts of room without much to do.
He made the best of it though, and didn't let it bother him.
There was a time when he'd have to be in his office doing this because of the sheer amount of paper a place like this generated. Thanks to King, the newly appointed Systems and Networks administrator for the Arcology's vast digital systems, it was much simpler now. All he needed was a pad that linked to the systems and he could do work wherever he wanted.
There was a respectful knock at the door.
"Come in," he called absently. The report held most of his attention, being an update from Roxas' Artefact collection task force. Effectiveness, losses, new risks, dangers and all kinds of other things. Sora might have liked to lighten his workload a bit, but some things he never let out of his sight, and the task force was one of them.
One of his guards came in, picking his way around the various furniture in the room. Given the room's size, the furniture suggested that this was more suited to large social gatherings than a simple lounge.
"Sir," the guard nodded to him. Sora glanced up, acknowledging him with his own now. "You have a visitor. A certain Jack Skellington."
"Jack?" he echoed. "I wonder what he's doing here? Show him in, would you?"
"At once," the guard replied with another nod. He'd once asked them to stop being so formal, but it hadn't really taken effect. The Grandmaster's Guards were loyal to the Grandmaster – no matter who that may have been. It was their primary responsibility to ensure his safety, and their second was to see to the needs.
Sora had protested that he didn't need protecting. He had the keyblade, and although it wasn't on the same level as Donald, he had a bit of magic too. The Arcology itself gave him yet more power from their own Kingdom Hearts, hanging just above the Arcology.
Because it was tied only to the Arcology and it's residents, the power behind it was so great it manifested as something the residents could use. The ranking system in place set limits on it for their own safety. Sora was perhaps the only one without any limit on his power, but he carefully limited himself as it was. Never wasting any, never over-doing things. In fact, he tried not to use it at all if he could help it.
Jack was shown in by the Guard, accompanied by Axel. Jack, of course, looked no different to normal, but Axel had taken a considerable change in recent times. With the exception of his name, he'd discarded everything about him that marked him as one of the few remaining survivors of Organization XIII, even going so far as to take on the appearance he'd had when he was Lea, before he joined them.
Visitors to the Arcology, with the exception of Kairi, Riku, Donald and Goofy, always had to be accompanied by a First when going to see Sora. When not on his own missions, Axel frequently brought them up to see him, but didn't intrude himself on Sora's discussions with them, and so remained by the door.
"So this is where you're hiding yourself, Sora," Jack greeted him, looking about the room. "You know, it was way more creepy before you came along."
Sora laughed. Jack loved to scare people. "I'd love to have kept it that way for you, but I had to consider everything."
"Oh, I understand entirely. But you can still help me out again, if you're of a mind."
"Halloween again?"
"Well it is my responsibility, you know. Even Santa agreed on that remember?"
"I remember. Not that you didn't look pretty funny in the Santa outfit."
"I couldn't get used to the beard," he shook his head, then seemed to realise Sora was holding a pad. "I'm not interrupting anything important am I?"
"No. I'm just trying to find any sign of intelligence in some of these intelligence reports," he sighed. "I'm going to have to run on down and beat some sense into some people, or at least reassign some of them."
"Trouble?"
"You'd think if Roxas said 'go on a stealth mission' it'd mean keeping out of sight, right?"
"Yup, that's right."
"Apparently one of them took that to mean 'blow a hole in the side of the castle to get in'."
"You have to admit, it did get him in."
"Oh I know. But it does sort of attract attention. Don't worry about it Jack, I can come back to it later. What's on your mind?"
"I thought you'd like to join me, and use some of the power this place gives to make a Halloween to remember for years."
"Sounds like fun," he grinned.