Dog led him out of where he'd been held. Due to the odd sense of propriety they had here, Merle had attached a chain to his collar, and handed it to Sora. Though Sora was in fact being led by Dog, it would look to others as if it was the other way around. Dog assured him this was necessary.
He still ached, and walked stiffly, but he was working it out of him. Like all other places, the walls here gave out light, but it appeared only where people actually were, or wanted it to be. He didn't as yet have the power to affect that. Dog had explained that his power was still forming, and it would be a while before the glows would respond to him.
They emerged from the orange-walled corridors that were owned by Merle on this floor of the Arcology into a massive communal area.
The main area itself was a central circular park like setting, with the occasional market stall selling something. Around it's vast perimeter were more stores, among many other things. Set above them in a single row were darkened windows. Occasionally a spark of lightening played over one of them, or several of them. In the very centre sat a lake with a beach around it. It wasn't large by any stretch of the imagination, but given that this floor alone seemed to be the entire size of the tower - which was massive in itself - it was enough to be large.
"Welcome to floor twenty, master Sora," Dog said, turning to him. "This is one of the recreational floors of the Dark Arcology. Other floors are residential suites owned by such as mistress Merle, or a mall floor for shopping. The red doors on each floor are the elevators to other levels, each one has a map inside of what is on each floor."
"So what do I have to do for now?"
"Right now? You should wait for your power to manifest really, but you need to learn the way of things here. Starting with your place."
"Merle didn't tell me that."
"But she did. Examine your wrist. There are three marks on it. One is your identification - your name. The second will react when mistress Merle or her second summons you. The last is your rank."
"A skull and crossbones?"
"It means you're of the third rank, two above myself. The first rank is marked by the collar, the second and above are unique to your owner. In this case the second is just a skull, and the third is the same with crossbones. I believe the fourth level has it mounted upon a flag, and the fifth is crossed cutlasses. Then above that is her second. Seconds always have the number two as their mark."
"And above them, Merle and others like her, what do they have?"
"The Firsts have the eyes. I do not know if there are others beyond them."
"So if someone above me gives me an order, I have to follow it."
"That is correct, but only if they are a second or First, or are above you and working for the same First."
"Right. Anyone with the flag, cutlasses, a number two or the eyes I have to take orders from."
"You pick this up quickly, master Sora."
"Dog, if I asked you to leave off the master, would you?"
"No, master Sora. Your wishes cannot overrule mistress Merle's."
"There's no exception?"
"Only if her second finds enough reason. You are not yet cleared to meet him for now, as you've yet to adjust."
"What's left to learn?"
"A great deal. The first thing to do is to get you registered, and then to show you to your room. You are housed just opposite my room. Let me show you around."
"While we make it look like I'm leading you."
"Such is the way of things, master Sora. I may not lead, only follow."
The Arcology, he learned, had over two hundred floors above ground, and an unknown number below ground in the labyrinth he'd been going through. There were rumours he heard that implied that it was endless, adding a new level as someone inside got further. He also learned he was already gaining a reputation, having beaten the previous record of a meagre twenty floors with his fifty.
Registering turned out to be an easy process, simply having his marking examined and logged along with his current owner. Once registered, if Merle gave him away for any reason, she'd notify them, and they'd update it accordingly, so they'd always know who was at what rank and who their owner was.
Dog then let him go his own way, though remained with him, explaining things as he needed to.
The floor above turned out to be a vast shopping mall sprawling over the entire floor - or more accurately, two floors, as this one floor contained two, which was confusing, having floor twenty one upper and lower floors. In one part there was an arcade, where Sora lingered.
"But master Sora, you've no credits to pay for this yet," Dog objected.
"Do you see me playing? I'll be back another time to play, right now I'm taking in what's here, what to play and not to play."
"Master?"
"Some of the games are rigged to make it harder to win, others you'll win on, then you'll have to wait until lots of gullible people pour their money into it again. There's a trick to it."
"Fascinating," he commented. "But do you suppose we could leave?"
"What for?"
"There is someone in a black robe behind us that I have never seen before. He's somehow disturbing to me."
Sora glanced back. The someone was wearing an Organization XIII robe, hood up, watching them.
"How long's he been there?"
"He followed us in and has been watching us since."
"Ever seen anyone else wear anything like him? Or even heard of someone like it?"
"Never, master Sora. It is entirely new to me."
Sora nodded, leading them out. On the way, he felt a sharp pain from his wrist, and jerked it back sharply, looking at the markings there.
"What was that?" he exclaimed, half to himself.
Dog examined the markings.
"Your marking of the Dark Arcology is glowing, master Sora. Mistress Merle wants you. We must go to her, now."
"Can you do that fade out thing?"
"My limited authority does not permit me to do so."
"Do you know how it works?"
"I understand you think of the place you want to go, and command it to be so."
"Would it work with some kind of link, like the markings?"
"I believe so, but you must not try it, master Sora! You've no experience with the power yet!"
"Now's as good a time as any to find out, wouldn't you say? Strange person watching us, Merle summoning us."
"But... what if it goes wrong?"
"Afraid of a little adventure, Dog?" he grinned back. "Let's see if I can figure this out."
What was this place? Faint memories flickered across his mind, not his, but there all the same. A tower. Something about darkness. It'd become clear in time.
Another thing, why did he have the robe? He'd left the Organization-
There! Sora, with someone... on a chain with a collar? What was going on here?
It was definitely Sora, no one could mistake that, especially not him.
He followed, no one paying him any attention. He'd thought it would seem odd with the hood up, but no one gave him a second glance. Few gave him a first glance.
A games arcade. Typical of Sora, gravitate to the fun and games.
He stalked silently through after them, pausing at one point where he had a view of them. It was hard to hear them from here, only catching snatches of conversation.
"... there's a trick to it," Sora was saying.
"Fascinating," the stranger replied, then the sounds of someone else hitting the jackpot nearby drowned out the rest. Sora glanced around for a moment, then the two started to leave. Had he been seen?
On the way out, they paused, examining Sora's wrist. He couldn't see what was so fascinating.
The stranger began objecting, looking wild eyed as Sora grinned his favourite cocky grin back.
Then they faded out with a sucking sound, and vanished.
That was new, he'd never been able to do anything like that before.
Just to make sure, he went to where they'd stood, and checked the was no trickery. They really had gone.
They had looked as Sora's wrist. Maybe his...
That's right, there'd been a marking on his wrist too.
He checked it again.
First, right on his wrist in ornate Gothic lettering was 'Roxas'. Below that, some kind of marking of a tower. Then underneath, his twin keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion.
What did this mean, he wondered. What had happened to Sora that had brought him back again?
"Sora? Isn't this a surprise? I wasn't expecting you for a while yet."
"I thought I'd hurry along a bit," he replied offhand. Dog was still a little wild eyed, looking stunned.
"Do stop that, pet," Merle told him, seated on a large three seat couch. "Sora did a good job."
"I am sorry mistress... please excuse me to recover?"
"Of course, Sora, let him off the chain." He did so, allowing Dog to nod shakily to each of them, then left them. "Poor boy has a terrible phobia of being ported like that. I must say though, you're remarkably good at it for someone who only just got his power."
"I had help from Dog. He explained it to me, I just tried it."
He looked around at the room. Like all of Merle's rooms, the walls were a warm orange. She was stretched out on the couch on one wall, a door on either side, and one behind him. There were various squashy armchairs around the room, and a dark panel on one wall that looked like a screen.
"You like the room? I've so many rooms sometimes it's hard to decide where to go."
"You could cater to pretty much any need though, right?"
"That's true. Take a seat, Sora."
"By the way, do you know anything about an Organization XIII?"
"I've never heard of it before, why?"
"They're a group I met before here, I saw someone wearing one of the distinctive robes while I was out."
"Did my pet see too?"
"He pointed them out to me, actually."
"And do you think they'll be trouble?"
"I don't know."
Merle nodded. "I'll have him show me this person later, and investigate. At some point, you'll have to tell me more about this Organization, but right now, I've got a little job for you."
"Already? That was quick."
"Oh, I think it'll be a good test of your new loyalty. You see, there's a procedure we all follow whenever someone's brought in, whether by recommendation, or just by our own interests in an individual. There's inevitably people who know them, and would notice their disappearance."
"Donald and Goofy..."
"Precisely. You're to handle the task of investigating them and finding out what they're doing about it, who they're talking to, all of it. Do whatever you have to do to retrieve the information. Use your power sparingly though - there are some out there who have theories about our power, and yours is still growing, so be careful."
Sora's mind was immediately filled with the prospect of getting back to his friends, and getting them to help him get out of what he'd been forced into.
"Just what do you need to know?" he asked, trying to hide his enthusiasm.
"What they're doing to find you, how they've reacted, how much of a threat they pose, and anything else you think worth our while to know. Just remember where your loyalties lie, Sora. "
"No problem," he replied, grinning again. "This'll be a piece of cake."
"I'm sure. I wouldn't try going by your own means though. While I'm impressed you managed to port yourself to here so soon, take my advice and don't try it again just yet."
"Well, if the only exit is in that maze, and I've gotta go through all that again-"
"Oh, you misunderstood me, Sora. That was the only exit for you at the time. On the fifth floor there's the port agency, they'll help you find where you need to go, get you there, and provide a way back again."
"Right. Guess I better get to work then!"
As he left, he paused, and turned back.
"Is there really an exit down there in the labyrinth?"
"No."
"So there's no choice even then, huh?"
"The illusion of freedom often motivates people to fight like you did, and we uncover some things we'd never normally see. You, for example, possess great courage and endurance. Fifty floors, Sora. No one has ever got that far down before. Go on. Go to work. We'll talk more later."
The Port Agency was a small room hidden near the centre of the maze of offices and departments that resided on this one of the six administration floors. In the centre of the room was a large purple orb that had a bronze ring surrounding it, that in turn was hung from the ceiling. One corner was blocked off by a counter, behind which three old-looking men were working away at paperwork. Each one wore a hat resemblant of those Black mages wore, except in the same purple colour as the orb was. Behind them was one door, and another on this side of the desk marked 'Staff Only'.
One looked up as he approached, sighed, put his paperwork to one side then finally in a quiet but bored tone, "Your identity."
"Sora."
"Not your name, your markings," he sighed wearily. "New people always make that mistake." He examined the markings, making some notes. "You'd think they'd tell them, but no, it's down to us, every time... underpaid, overworked, and it's always up to us... everything checks out. Now, do you know where you're going?"
"Not exactly... I know who I've got to check up on though."
"Sending newbies to check up on their own folk... that Merle's breaking rules again. Alright, wait right there, I'll be through in a moment, then we'll see what the orb can find for you."
Sora grinned to himself. Bureaucrats the world over were exactly the same, complaining about their job, insisting they should be paid more, and always gossips.
Still muttering to himself, the old man came out of the 'Staff Only' door, and lay a hand on the orb, causing faint lights to spark on the inside.
"Right, give me a name to look for."
"Donald. He's a duck, if that helps.
He stared at Sora for a few moments, shook his head and concentrated on the orb. Images of places flickered through inside, coming to rest in a place he recognised as Twilight Town, following Donald and Goofy as they made their way through.
"No sound, in case you're wondering why we don't use this to find out things. It's theoretically possible, but no one's ever managed it. These the two you're after?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"You would pick a populated place... let's look around, keep your eyes looking for a shadow, the darker the better."
"There's an alley two streets south, on the left of the path, it's pretty dark."
The old man focused again, the image moving rapidly through the town, and coming to rest on the alley he'd mentioned.
"Perfect, for a change." He pulled what looked like a marble out of a pocket and muttered something. It flickered once, then it was handed to him. "When you're certain you want to come back to here, pull this out and just command it to return you. It's a one way thing, so don't waste it. Now off with you!"
At these words, the large orb's image died, closely followed by his own view, replacing it with black. It faded through shades of grey, other colours flashing through briefly, then they faded back into the sensible view of the alley.
He felt odd, but couldn't place why. He still looked normal, and felt otherwise fine, so he ignored it and went looking for his friends.
Donald and Goofy had split up, he'd discovered, in the hopes that one of them would finally find him.
Something was wrong though. He wasn't making any attempt to conceal himself, yet no one seemed to think he'd even been seen. Something very strange was going on here.
He found Kairi sat in one of the parks, worrying about him, and decided to check up on her personally.
"Hey, Kairi," he called, joining her, but she looked puzzled at the sight of him. "What's up?"
"I'm... sorry, do I know you?"
"Huh? You don't recognise me?"
"I've never seen you before... please, excuse me, I'm worried about Sora... he's a friend of mine. You haven't heard anything of him, have you?" He tried to tell her he was Sora, but something made him balk, and instead just shook his head. "I didn't think so... see you around."
Sora stood there, stunned. She hadn't recognised him. She'd even asked if he knew where he was.
"What the hell just happened?" he eventually said to no one in particular, still shaken.
"You can't tell them," Seifer's voice told him from behind. "No one can while outside."
"What do you mean?" he demanded, turning.
"It's a limitation we all have to endure. Out here, we lose our real identities. Only within the confines of the Dark Arcology we can ever use them. Even the Firsts can't do it."
"So who am I out here?"
"No one. Didn't you notice Kairi never asked you for your name? You can create an entire identity, and the moment you tell her the name you've given it, she'll believe that's who you are. Same for everyone else."
"So I'm just... no one."
"Merle sent you do handle this because she wanted you to find out about this. I know why you were so eager to come."
"I thought I'd be able to tell Donald or Goofy... tell them what happened to me."
"You thought you'd get their help in breaking out."
"I can't do it, can I?"
"No one can. Why do you think Dog told you he'd moved on from his friends from before he joined?"
"How did you know about that?"
"I was watching you. I'm not owned by Merle - my owner's Swordsman - so I shouldn't have done it, but I'm known for being stealthy. We may not have our friends outside any longer, but at least we have each other, and the friends we make within."
"It's not the same."
"I know, Sora, I know. Want some company while you work?"
"You allowed to?"
"I've got a few privileges you don't, being two ranks above you," he smirked back.
"Hey, just 'cause you're higher than me, doesn't make you better than me!"
"That's the Sora I know," he laughed. "Come on, lets go get your information for Merle."