The Necropolis
Outside the main gates

"I have a feeling I'm going to regret this," Sora muttered, opening the vast blue double-doors of the Necropolis by aiming his keyblade at the giant lock on them. Mickey said nothing, trying to ignore the biting cold of the snowstorm howling around them. They hadn't prepared for an expedition in the cold, mostly because inside the Necropolis itself, the coldness came instead from the presence of the dead rather than any actual drop in temperature.
The door creaked open, allowing them entry into the immense hallway between the first and second doors. Almost as soon as they cleared the wide swing of the first doors, they closed, plunging them into a momentary darkness before the second pair opened to the bleak, black buildings and streets that made up the City of the Dead.
"Where do you think he'll be?" Mickey asked Sora as they stepped inside, the second doors banging shut behind them.
"I don't have any clue. Last time I was here he found me by himself, so maybe he'll do it again."
"We can't just do nothing, Sora."
"I don't plan to. The dead seem to have a community of sorts. Maybe we should ask around."
"We shouldn't split up. Not if the Collective is after one or both of us."
"The Collective thinks we already know where the Echo Islands are. They're not expecting us to be here. Not that I'm saying we should split up." Several shades walked past, one even through both of them. Sora shuddered back involuntarily. "Definitely not splitting up," he muttered. "I hate this."
Mickey started off without him, already heading toward another nearby shade.
"We're looking for someone," he told it loudly. "Can you help us?"
"No," it told him haughtily. "I can't. Step aside."
"No." Mickey answered. "I think you can help us."
It faded out instead.
"So much for that idea," Sora murmured. "Maybe we should just call for him?"
"Don't do that! If you get too loud you could disturb other shades – and not all shades will like that. Some could turn on you, and you really don't want that."
"You know, I'm glad someone tells me things like this before I go to worlds," Sora said blandly. "It always makes it so much easier knowing what you have to do to get torn apart."
"Will you stop that and actually do something useful?"
"Like what? The Arcology's power doesn't work on the dead. All we can do is just ask around and hope he'll find us."
"Well get started already."

Sora's Arcology
Infirmary and Medical Research
Floor 38
Long-term patients wing

Members of the Collective were never normally separated from the Collective. Even while they slept, they remained linked to, and a part of the shared mind, able to participate just as much as those who were awake.
After a time, the sense of self becomes subtly altered in this presence and members generally consider the Collective as much a part of them as they are of it.
So on the rare times when a mind becomes separated from the Collective, a state of panic normally ensues due to the silence in their mind until the link reasserts itself.
Seifer recalled all this calmly, wondering why he wasn't panicked as he began to wake.
He recalled what had happened, then realised. His original fear had become very real.
His mind passed through the lower levels of consciousness and rose toward wakefulness, becoming steadily more aware of himself. The mental abilities of the Collective began to reassert themselves, allowing him to examine his surrounds with his mind before he fully woke up.
Seeing with the mind is not like seeing with the eyes. Colours flash through, and have to be identified.
Sharp greens at first. Metals, plastics. He felt around them, grasping the shapes and determined he was lying in a bed. Several more different greens, and judged he was in some kind of medical facility.
The bright flash of red, indicating a mind. Seifer reached out and examined the mind. A female mind. He went deeper, examining thoughts. Memories of Sora. Being with him. This was Kairi's mind.
So Sora had set Kairi to watch him. Did he know?
More memories were examined. Sora suspected him. He knew what had happened, but didn't know that he was their fake Roxas yet. He'd set enough in motion to put him on the trail leading to that discovery-
-Rai Nek, welcome back to the Collective. What is your status?-
-I have become a Nobody,- he answered. -It is a curious experience. I believe I am otherwise unharmed.-
-And your location?-
-Uncertain. I believe I am in a medical facility, quite probably within the Arcology. I have detected Kairi's mind nearby. What has happened in my absence?- Various minds filled him in, passing him thoughts and memories. Kun sent him the memory of meeting Sora, and saw they knew about the Echo Islands. The King was working with him, and they were on the trail of the third Key.
Other memories brought him up to date on their own operations on those isles. The Heartless were already there, waiting for the Grandmaster and the King.
Seifer took all this in as quickly as he could handle it.
-Rai Mure has been unable to advise us on our next course of action,- the Collective told him. -We seek your input on the situation.-
Seifer thought, deliberately preventing himself from fully waking up. A plan was already forming.
-I would ask to be named a leader of the Collective for the duration of our quarrel with the Arcology,- Seifer answered, knowing full well that this was not a request made lightly. A lot of the Collective was against having a single, centralized leader for many reason.
The Collective's answer was short and simple. -State your explanation.-
-Our operations with the Heartless on the Echo Islands may fail to stop Sora, and are more likely to for as long as the King is with him. If we succeed, then both of them will become Heartless, if not Nobodies. In the case of the former, we can command them. In the case of the latter, they may simply be dispatched as with any other Nobody. If however our plans fail to stop him, and we cannot retrieve the Keeper before their arrival, he will move directly to stop us. What is required is a distraction. I propose to take Kairi, who is presently watching over my sleeping form, and leave him enough breadcrumbs to discover that I have taken her. He will follow, and without him the three Keys cannot be brought together. We merely have to keep her from him for long enough to claim any one of the three Keys, even if that should mean killing one of them.-
Seifer waited. Either they would accept it, or they would not. Being recognised as a leader of the Collective for this was not entirely essential, but it would expedite matters with Kairi, and with Sora too if he managed to catch up with him.
He listened in, touching on other minds as the debate began to be taken up. There were many views on the matter, too many to count.
Finally, Rai Mure stepped in, silencing them with a single word: -Vote.-
As the idea was originally his, he could not vote on it himself and thus was chosen to tally the votes. A flurry of single-word thoughts bombarded him as he quickly collected the votes.
Keeping to tradition, he announced the results to the Collective. Being a Nobody now, he was able to keep any change to his tone betraying the results.
-Twenty-three thousand voting members. Two thousand and seventy abstained. Nine thousand and fifty-three against. Eleven thousand, eight hundred and seventy-seven in favour.-
He'd achieved it, but not by as much as the numbers suggested.
-The measure has passed. Rai Nek has nominal command of the Collective until we control one of the keys.-
-Continue on course then,- he told them. -I will advise as situations arise. Progress reports on the status of Sora and the King are essential. A task force is required in each of the following worlds: Radiant Garden, Wonderland, Dwarf Woodlands, Agrabah, the Beast's Castle, the Castle of Dreams and Enchanted Dominion. Focus on the appearance of the kidnapping of the Princesses of Heart, but do not hurry or bring large numbers of Heartless. They are not essential to the plan as yet.-
-The Princess of Heart from Radiant Garden does not reside in that world.-
-I am aware of this. Kairi is with me at this time. I will take care of her myself. The goal of those at Radiant Garden is to locate the former site of the keyhole. Leave traces enough at each world to attract the attention of Sora. He will without doubt recognise the signs and understand what we are doing.-
-What is it you plan to do?-
Seifer distributed the remainder of the plan as a series of thoughts to the Collective.
-It is risky,- he conceded. -But we have greater numbers and understanding. I believe we will prevail.-

The Necropolis

"Sora."
"Hm?"
"Look there."
Sora turned, following Mickey's gaze. Heading down the street away from them was the unmistakable shade they sought.
Like an uncoiling spring, Sora bolted after the shade, not wanting to let it get away while it was in his sights.
It paused, then glanced over the fuzzy edge of one shoulder at the sound, looking curious, then fully turned to watch Sora approach with Mickey not far behind.
"Isn't this an unexpected surprise?" the voice came to him faintly despite the close distance. It watched as the two slowed, catching up and catching their breath. "You too, your Majesty? I'm honoured."
"We're not here to honour you," Mickey told him.
"I'm crushed," it answered, taking a seat just above a nearby bench. Mickey remained standing, while Sora sank onto it and pulled out a flask. The cap was unscrewed and revealed to be a small stack of cups.
"Coffee?" Mickey watched as he poured out one. "At a time like this?"
"I always keep some around. Good for getting your energy back. You want one?"
"Not for me."
"Sephiroth?" he asked the shade beside him.
"I'm dead, in case you've forgotten."
"Oh yeah."
"What are you up to, Sora?"
"We're looking for a world, and you're the only one who knows where it is."
"Ah... so the Keyblade Masters are looking for the Echo Islands. What do you have to offer?"
"And this is the other reason for the coffee," Sora told Mickey. "I'm likely to be sat here negotiating for a while."
Sand appeared with a brief pulse of light in the air, while Sephiroth's shade looked on with interest.
"Sorry to interrupt," he began. "The infirmary sent me with a priority message for you, Sora. They insisted you know at the soonest opportunity."
"We'll negotiate in a moment," Sora told Sephiroth, then nodded to Sand.
"Seifer regained consciousness, but before anyone reached him he disappeared into a dark corridor with Kairi. We have no knowledge of his destination, but several red flags have been raised on Advisor Roxas' Intelligence service."
Sora seemed to keep himself under control at this news only with effort, and simply answered, "Which flags?"
"I only have the code-words for them," Sand warned, then when Sora nodded, he continued, "Pure Hearts, Second Genie and Last Lock."
Sora frowned.
"What do they mean?" Mickey asked him.
"Hush a moment," he answered absently. "Let me think." They all watched him in silence for several minutes, seeing his expression grow serious, and eyes widen. Even Sephiroth looked surprised at the sudden, vicious outburst of cursing Sora vented, the echoes rebounding around the Necropolis.
When he finally calmed himself, Sephiroth murmured, "Good to get it all out instead of letting it build up like that. Care to tell us what's happened?"
"Second Genie means the lamp I imprisoned Jafar in after he stupidly had himself turned into a Genie has been spotted again, and the suspicions are that Jafar is still around. I thought his lamp had been destroyed, but apparently not."
"And the other two?"
"Mickey should recognise them. They're not as obscure."
Now Mickey thought, then he too looked surprised. "The Seven princesses of Heart, and the Final Keyhole?"
"Exactly. I was wrong. The 'plan once thwarted' isn't going to be the Collective creating their own Kingdom Hearts. They're trying to open the Final Keyhole, and that's why Seifer's taken Kairi."
Sephiroth looked curiously interested, and asked, "This Collective you mentioned. They wouldn't be the Muren Collective, would they?"
"How did you guess?"
"They're the reason I never told anyone where the Echo Islands were." He looked speculatively skyward, then back to Sora. "I think it might be better that you know. But you won't be able to go there through the Arcology's power. I tried it already."
"How then?"
"Your Majesty, do you still have the Star Shard that Yen Sid gave you?"
"It's kept safe in the Disney Castle, why?"
"I believe if you can retrieve it, I can show you how to reach the world of the Echo Islands with it."
"Sand can take you to the castle safely, and bring you directly back to here."
But Sand shook his head, "I could port myself to you because I'm directly owned by you, but I can't leave again."
"Then I'll open the doors myself," Mickey told them. "My keyblade can work the doors just like yours, then Sand can take me there and back."
"Go with him," Sora told Sand. "As soon as you've brought him back here, have the artefact task force put on hold. I want recon teams out in the home worlds of all seven of the Princesses of Heart. They're to stay in the field, lay as low as possible while they gather data, and if there's any sign of a coup to capture any of the remaining six Princesses, immediately notify the Arcology. Get a retrieval team on the scene to protect the Princesses the instant that happens – do whatever has to be done, but don't let any of them get taken. Any spare recon teams, get them out to the other worlds and search for Kairi and Seifer. Do not let anyone other than Axel and his team attempt to retrieve Kairi, and under no circumstances risk a confrontation with Seifer. He's mine."
"You know, Sora, I think you might have been right," Sephiroth said as Sand and Mickey departed. "I could have learned a great deal from you. In just a short time, you've learned the situation and acted effectively on it. I wouldn't be surprised to find you get Kairi back before there's any attempt to take any single one of the remaining Princesses."
"It's all in the preparations, Sephiroth," he answered. "Roxas set up the task force primarily for artefact retrieval, but they're well trained, and ready to take on anything I need. The artefacts can be dropped at a moments notice to handle any crisis that comes up, and alongside the Intelligence service, we hear about things almost as soon as they crop up. I can respond at a moment's notice."
"So I see. Why don't you tell me a bit more about the changes to the Arcology while we wait?"
"So you can put them in place here, and rule the dead?"
"Me? No, that's up to Hades. You'd better hope he doesn't stop by while you're here by the way. He has one massive grudge to hold against you."
"He can join the queue," Sora shrugged. "The Collective's next to get served one big dish of..." he hesitated, then laughed, "I never thought I'd say something like this."
"Like what?"
Sora smirked and finished, "A big dish of pure ownage."