The same Authoritor that had delivered judgement to Merle and reassigned ranks now waited in a bleak antechamber nervously. The Council didn't summon people lightly.
A spark played over one of the darkened windows, illuminating a hazy view that shifted through various places, never quite settling on any specific one. It only would when someone was taken.
The ornate double doors opened a crack, and a head peered around at her.
"The Council will see you now," it told her. She nodded, getting up and steeling herself. There was no way to tell if this would be good or bad.
Six people sat around a long oval table. The Councilmen and women. At the head of the table were two more chairs, more ornate than the ones the Council had but vacant, then between them and most impressive looking of them all, one last chair, this one facing away from them. It was impossible to tell if it was occupied or not.
One of the members on the left side spoke first, in a calm, clear voice."Authoritor Karen, you know why you have been called before the Council?"
"I do," she replied, not letting her nerves show.
"Then explain yourself."
"Merle owned no one of the fifth rank and her only fourth rank refused further advancement, thus I deemed it necessary to look to the third rank. Of them, only the newest of them, Sora, was eligible."
"He has not been here the required week," one of the others interjected.
"I'm aware of that."
"So your actions were?"
"I placed her Second as First, and Sora as his Second. When Sora's review is done, I plan to read it and investigate his actions during the week, then assuming it's favourable, make him First, as the Second also does not wish to be a First."
"You had the power to order them to take the positions. Why did you not use it?"
"I didn't use it because I don't feel forcing people into positions they don't want is the right course of action."
"Yet you forced her Second to become First."
"On a temporary basis. Should Sora's report come back against him, then I'll discuss the options of his staying on permanently, or finding another."
"I don't believe you made the correct decision," another member announced, rising to his feet. "Your task is to handle these situations within the confines of the rules, and no more. You are not here for public relations, you are here to tell people what positions they will take."
"Ordinarily, I would agree," the chair at the head of the table spoke softly, his voice reaching to each of them easily, the rest of the council turning to face it. "But in this case, I believe an exception is required. Sit down."
He did so as the chair turned, but not quietly. "With all due respect Grandmaster, what makes him so special? He's a mere third rank, and only a child at that."
The figure in the chair leaned forward into the light, bringing a face with a smirk, framed with long silver hair, into view.
"Oh, no. No, Sora's far more than that. He's a Keyblade Master, and a Second with high chances of becoming a First. He's more than worthy of that."
"Grandmaster?"
"I have challenged him before now, before here. I know what strength he has. Authoritor Karen's decision stands, and in future, you will all remember he is more than he seems."
"Of course, Grandmaster," the remaining Council members replied.
"Then it is settled. You may go, Authoritor."
She left the room again, thankful and awed simultaneously. Not only summoned to the Council, but a meeting with the Grandmaster himself! A rare honour that was.

Danny had insisted on accompanying Sora back to his room with a faint grin playing over his face.
The reason became clear as soon as he entered. The walls were no longer the old uniform orange, but were now blue on the lower half of the walls and red on the upper half, with a thin golden border separating them. His couch, previously a simple two-seater, was now a larger three seater in black leather, and two single seat chairs in the same design were also nearby.
"You also have a better bathroom," Danny told him. "With an actual bath, rather than just a shower. You also get to colour the walls as you please, though as far as I can tell, they try to pick up on what you'd choose anyway. I think they did pretty good for you, not a bad style."
"Thanks, I think. It's a bit of a change to handle."
"Oh, don't worry, you'll do fine. You'll have people of ours stop by sometimes the same way they would me, except where you're my Second, if they think it's not worth bothering me about, they'll come to you instead."
"Then what?"
"Then you get to decide whether what they want is something you can authorise, or pass it up to me. You're expected to be able to account for what you decide, mind. You just saw one possibility of not being able to. Oh, and if something comes up, you get to send yourself on missions."
"And I tell when something comes up by..."
"Your computer on the desk. Just power it up, it'll automatically recognise you and give you useful information. Try it sometime, you might find it useful."
"What about you, what are you going to do?"
"Go back to my café and pretend nothing happened."
"You really don't want to be a First do you?"
"Not if I can help it. I can see the necessity for it this time, but still... you do good work, Sora. I'd be glad to hand over the reins to you by the end of the week, I'm sure."
"You expect me to do bad work?" he grinned back. "Me, of all people? Not a chance!"
Danny chuckled, shaking his head, then turned to leave.
"Just remember to expect more visitors," he said on the way out.
Left wondering again what to do, and still slightly amazed at what had happened to him in the short time he'd been here, he stood for a few moments, then realised he was hungry, and decided maybe he'd try cooking something for a change. He'd helped this morning. How hard could it be?

By lunchtime the following morning, he'd been visited by three people ranked second looking for advice, Merle apologising for what she'd done, Dog asking if he could put in a word with Danny about finally breaking out of being a first rank, and Mia, who wanted his permission to take on missions outside of the tower. He'd given it, insisting that she take along someone who'd been outside, just in case. She'd protested vehemently, until he'd ordered her to.
He slumped into a chair in the café, Danny bringing him a coffee and joining him.
"Busier day?"
"Busier than yesterday. Thanks, I could use a drink about now."
"I did tell you to expect visitors."
"I don't think I was quite prepared for this."
"Look on the bright side of things, you're doing something right."
"How so?"
"Mia came to me complaining about the orders you gave her. I told her you were right, and she complained a bit more, but accepted it."
"That means I'm doing it right?"
"Of course. I've long held the opinion that if someone doesn't like what you've done or are doing, then you're probably doing it right."
"I guess that helps a bit."
"You should have seen your friend Seifer. He stopped by earlier, wondering where you are. He's terribly envious of you right now, you know, he's been trying for months to become a Second, and you came along and got it in a few days."
"I always was better than him," he smirked back.
"Don't get cocky. How about taking on a mission for me?"
"Depends on what it is."
"There's a new guy up on the boards that list recommendations and such. He's young, not much younger than yourself actually, leads a pretty normal life. What's got my attention is that rumour says he's got an interesting ability. As soon as he picks something up, he instantly knows how to use it. Tool or weapon, the potential uses are endless. He doesn't even know he has it though."
"And you want him checked up on to see if the rumours are true, and if so, brought in?"
"Oh, not brought in. I haven't got rights to doing that just yet, I want the initial report first, to see if it's worth it. If it is, I'll show you what you need to do to have him taken in."
"Taken in? You mean the same thing I went through, right?"
"Yeah, except I won't be breaking rules. You'll be the one meeting him. I could pass it off to King, but you know what he's like around people. Jittery as anything."
"So where do I find him, and what's he called?"
"Small farming community called Baxton. His name's Jamie. Those names should be enough to get you there."
"After I finish the coffee."
"Sure thing. Thanks Sora."
"Hey, Danny? Why don't you like giving orders?"
"It's never sat well with me, I prefer to make suggestions and let people decide what to do on their own. Works better for me. Why do you ask?"
"Curiosity, and still trying to figure out how to handle the people who keep pestering me."
"Patience, Sora. You get used to it eventually."

Sora had almost retraced his steps to the Port agency office again, when he remembered he didn't need to now. With his move up in rank, he could tell the power available to him had grown, and that he was authorised to do more.
Baxton turned out to be just what it had been described as; a small farming community. Fields of crops to one side, fields of farm animals to the other, and a large central building that was made up of warehouses, lodgings, the kitchen and other such places, arranged in a sensible square around a central courtyard. A few cottages lay on the outskirts, along the path that ran from north to south, and right past the main farm buildings. Strangely, there seemed to be no one around at all anywhere. No one out in the fields. No one wandering around. No one in the blacksmith, even it's forge was lacking the usual distinctive fiery glow of the furnace. Something was wrong here, but he couldn't place what, not yet.
Just as it had the last times he'd been outside, he felt himself become nobody once more, but he quickly banished it in favour of Axel. He could have been anyone, or created an entirely new person from scratch, but he knew Axel, and also knew it didn't really matter out here. It was highly unlikely that they'd ever seen him before.
Something had stopped him going directly to the central area, forcing him to make his way in on the path. As he made his way down, the feeling that something wasn't right grew. There was an odd feel to the air, a presence of something there, but unseen.
He knew what it was, he'd felt it often enough. It was the knowledge that Heartless were here. Probably drawn here by his keyblade.
He drew it out ready, then did a double take. It didn't look like his keyblade. It was different, silvery blue-green in colour, and it looked like it had a layer of scales on it, the tip looking more like a stylized dragon's head, and with a sharp hook back on the underside of the blade.
Different or not, it was still his keyblade, and there were still Heartless here somewhere.
He approached the central buildings warily, eyes flicking around scanning the area for any sign of Heartless. There was nothing though, just a deserted farmstead and an oppressive feeling that meant they were definitely here somewhere.
Reluctantly, he gave in, and let his power build up, then sent it out in short waves, using them in the same way as a sonar system, building up a mental picture of his surroundings. He didn't like to resort to this, he'd never needed to before, but he had to find Jamie, and knew better than anyone that leaving Heartless alone was a risk to everything and everyone else in the area.
The immediate area was clear, that much was certain, and there didn't seem to be any obvious places for Heartless to hide.
He proved himself wrong on that score, as the moment he stood in the centre of the courtyard, several Soldier Heartless sprung out on him, several from the far sides of rooftops, where they had lain hidden just out of sight, a few from windows, and a lot from the various shadows, having somehow avoided his attempt to find them.
The lightly armoured Soldier Heartless posed little threat, being clumsy and like all Heartless, lacking coordination. Some swiped high, apparently aiming for the illusion of Axel they saw, as Axel was taller than him. Those that did were surprised enough to find they came into contact with nothing but air, were left as easy targets for the picking.
More Heartless came as he fought, mostly Soldier, but slowly being supplemented with the more common, but weaker Shadow Heartless.
The numbers were beginning to pile up against him, he couldn't keep this up for long. Even he had his limits. Fifty floors, he reminded himself, fifty floors of an unknown place, with dangers he'd never come across before. Remembering this made him more determined to fight on, doubling, and redoubling his efforts, and starting to carve through them once more.
Once more the numbers piled up again, faster this time, pushing him back, making him grow irritated.
This had two effects. One was that he started finding extra reserves of power to throw behind him, the other was that everything seemed to slow down slightly, not him, but everything else, as if time's flow had been altered. Between them, once again, he started beating them back yet again.
It was when he'd battled through this teeming hoard, back to the centre of the courtyard again, that he realised what had just happened. He'd somehow channelled his power into additional strength and speed.
Was it speed? No, it was more like improving his reflexes just enough that to anyone else watching, it would look like he was moving at high speed. Which of course he was.
He took a few moments breather, thinking quickly, then understood how it worked, he didn't channel it directly to it, rather he let his own body draw on it, pulling it into use as it needed. He just had to have reason to need it.
This didn't help him much though, as the hoard was piling up again, and he was forced to start fighting them off again, making use of the new discovery for even more devastating attacks against the Heartless. Some parts of the farm buildings suffered slightly, but it was only minor.
It still wasn't enough, and he was backed into a corner again.
"Give me a break!" he exclaimed. Oddly, the Heartless stopped approaching, and just stood, watching. Sora was dumbfounded. What was going on here?
He stood trying to figure out this strange behaviour, breathing heavily from his efforts, and wincing at a few sore spots they'd managed to cause. Through all this, they merely stood and looked on impassively.
A faint memory sparked an idea. It was all he needed. He stood up straight, bent again putting a hand to one rib that had stung, then tried again, trying to look commanding. He had to admit he probably didn't do very well at it, and it probably wasn't necessary, but did it anyway.
"Vanish," he told them, in what he hoped was a commanding voice. They did so, all except for the tell-tale glow of their eyes.
"Go from here, and don't bother this place any more."
Slowly, the feeling of their presence lessened, faded, then was gone. He'd really just commanded Heartless. An entire teeming mass of them. They'd just upped and left, all at his word.
Once again he stood in amazement at what he'd done, almost unable to take it in. Then he remembered why he was here, shook himself, and resumed searching for Jamie. Hopefully the Heartless hadn't claimed him.