Sora had found his memory of the route here was better than he thought, leading them out the same we he'd come in.
Along the way, he paused, sensing something large off to one side of the ship, wondering what it was, then remembered he hadn't turned off his power, the part that was looking for any nearby life. He'd completely forgotten about it.
Whatever it was, it was huge, and it didn't feel like it was going to just let them leave.
He didn't mention it to the others, continuing on their way out.
"What is that smell?" one of Lyle's aides asked as they got nearer.
"Probably the bridge crew. They were stinking something horrible when I got here."
"No, it's not that, we smelled that too. It smells worse."
Sora took a sniff, then almost choked.
"Yeah... that's not the crew..." he breathed. "Lets get up on deck... maybe we'll find out what it is."
"Master Sora," Merle called to him. She'd been travelling behind them, watching their backs. "Perhaps we shouldn't go there, in case there's danger to us all." Sora rolled his eyes where the others couldn't see.
"Of course there's danger. This ship gets attacked by some giant creature, and there's something out there that's probably it."
"I think what she means is the rest of us should keep clear until you can be sure it's safe," Lyle murmured.
"Could, but I might need a hand. Are you any good in a fight, Lyle?"
"I used to be a fair archer once, long before the Arcology claimed me, but I've since lost my touch, I'm afraid."
"And your aides?"
"New enough not to be ready. I'm training them to help me along in my various research around my orders."
"Guess it's up to me then. Wait here, I'll come and get you when I'm done, unless any of you care to lend a healing hand if you start hearing screaming."
"Charming thought."
There was a crashing crunch from outside, making the entire ship shake and tip over even more, forcing them to scramble quickly to find purchase on some surface, and grab hold of anything to keep upright.
When it subsided, the hallway was almost at a 45 degree angle to before.
"Everyone alright?"
"We're fine, Sora," Lyle insisted. "Go on, we'll be alright."
The remains of the deck was scattered with debris. He had to grab whatever was still in place in order to climb to the top of the newly gaping hole in it, and almost fell off when he saw what had caused it, still nestling in part of the hole.
It looked like a piece of seaweed had grown too large, and grown snake-like heads on the ends of each of the five strands sticking up out of the horrible green base. A blue liquid dripped from rows of teeth inside, each one sharper than a shark's tooth for certain. One head spotted him, darting towards him with surprising speed, and he jumped clear, landing easily on the remains of a partition between two cabins. He let himself draw on the power for the reflex boost again, allowing him to react even quicker, and in leaps and bounds, made his way over the wreckage toward the base of this creature.
Unexpectedly, one of the heads reacted quick enough to block his passage, hissing in his face, but before he even had the chance to be overpowered by it's breath, he'd already jumped clear, finding an alternative route.
Again, he was blocked, but this time he took a chance and landed on the head, out of sight of it, and had to grab hold of it's scaley back as best he could to keep from being thrown off, as it thrashed wildly around. He was further challenged by the other heads trying to snap at him and push him off.
One hand lost it's grip, making it harder, but also freeing it for the keyblade. The scales only covered the head, leaving the neck, if it was a neck, vulnerable. He took a swipe at the first one that lunged at him, causing it to rear back in pain with a peircing shriek, a shrill, high pitched scream that sounded like it would rend the very air itself. A spurt of dark green... stuff came out of the wound he'd caused.
Another head shot at him, no more wary than the last, and also snapped back after he'd injured it too. He saved the stem he was on for last, taking as firm a hold as he could in one hand, then cutting deep into it.
The head screamed and thrashed, flinging him off and up into the air. He hurredily ported himself to the relative safety of a bit of the wreckage, then as the heads were all licking at each others wounds, causing them to rapidly clot and heal, he took the chance to jump down onto the squidgy base the heads all met at, found the nearest, and hacked into the thicker trunk down here.
He was rewarded with a blast of the green stuff over him, but couldn't stop there. The screaming had started again, and it looked like one head was almost done healing itself.
He'd carved a big enough hole here, so quickly traced the stem of the one that was already starting to cast about for him, and began to attack the base of it's trunk too, cutting as far in as he could, and then dragging it through and round, circling it in an attempt to completely sever this one. He had to keep glancing up to watch them, and make sure none of them were almost done, and every time one began to look for him again, he quickly distracted it by cutting into it too. It evidently hurt more here, as they couldn't seem to do anything but scream and thrash as he cut into them.
Finally, he finished cutting through this one base, and with a push from everything he had to push with, it toppled over into the water, spraying more of the green gunk everywhere. It lay unmoving, defeated.
He was thoroughly covered in this gunk by now, but didn't let up, one of them had already recovered enough to spot him, and shot down toward him. He leaped clear, behind another trunk so it couldn't see him. When he risked a glance out, he found all four remaining heads licking at the stump that was left, stopping it from spilling out what he assumed was their equivilent of blood.
While they were distracted, he found the the trunk with the most damage he'd done to it, cut in, and continued, ignoring the screams from this creature, and even more gunk, eventually felling it alongside the other dead head.
Two of the remaining heads left the first, one going to this new wound, and the other orienting on him. With two trunks down, he was left without any place to hide from this one, instead being forced to jump clear as it shot toward him, and hack into it's neck, sending it snapping back upwards with another screech. Both the other heads turned on him now, their work apparently done, as the gunk was no longer flowing.
This wasn't turning into a fair fight. He was already winded from his efforts this far, and now they all had their attention focused on him.
With a sudden inspiration, he let his power build up, channeled it through the growing irritation at these things, and pushed it out through one hand, held palm up toward one of the heads.
From it shot a white-hot fireball that caught the head squarely in the face. The blue liquid from it's mouth burst into more flames, which then reacted with the original fireball, setting the entire head ablaze. Both the other heads drew back from this searing blaze; they did not like fire one bit.
Their distraction gave him the opportunity he needed to turn his attention back on the trunks.
He focused his power once more, in the same way, but this time shaping it, rather than into fire, into air, forming it into a blade of solidified air, then threw it toward one of the trunks. It was cleanly severed in an instant, clearly shocking the remaining head. The one on fire succumbed to the raging inferno, collapsing limply into the water where the fire lit the remaining blue stuff that had been floating on top of the water, the rest going out.
The last head regarded this, then looked down, seeing Sora already building up his power a third him. It's last thought was watching him send another chunk of air right through the base of it's trunk.
The ship creaked slightly, as the full weight of the creature was no longer on it. If he waited too long to get the others out, the liner would tip over.
Despite still being covered in green stuff – there'd be time to clean up later – he hurried on back up the wreck to the top, only to find the others had already moved outside to another spot near the top, as it was safer.
"You look terrible," Lyle called over to him.
"You should have tried taking on that thing," he called back.
"No thanks," he grinned, but it faded to a more serious expression quickly. Sora ported himself over to join them, almost losing his balance on the precarious edge between the tilted deck, and the remains on the other side, but just keeping it.
"We've got to get off the ship, it's going to tip any moment."
"I'll take the artefact and my aides. You and Merle get back to your part of the Arcology. I'll check in with Seifer for you."
"Thanks, Lyle."
"Thank you, Sora. You got me out of two sticky situations in one day, first Merle here, then that creature."
The ship creaked again, already starting to sink slightly.
"Go, Lyle!"
Lyle nodded, vanishing with his two aides. Porting to and from a ship might be forbidden, but getting off the ship was more important. Besides, he reasoned if that counted as an order to do it, it would get around the rule.
Without wasting any more time, He took one of Merle's hands, making her cringe back from the gunk, and he ported them directly to the bathroom in his part of the Arcology. It would be easier to clean the floor in there.
Merle immediately went to the sink and washed off her hands.
"Do you need me for anything else?" her tone indicated she was still not entirely happy with her situation.
"Tell me something I never asked before. What exactly happens about laundry around here?"
"There's a room four doors down with a sign on it marking it as the laundry room." Her shoulders slumped slightly and her face showed the discontent, knowing what he'd ask, but continued, "I assume you want me to take your clothes there for cleaning?"
"That's right, but I'd appreciate it if you'd wait until I got them off first. Grab a change from the wardrobe for me while I get in the shower. It doesn't matter which one. I'll leave these here for you to take. Don't worry about any mess on the floor, I'll clean that up later, you're free to go after you've got these washing. Make sure you go to the Registry and get your new rank sorted. Again."
"As you wish."

"You look terrible, Sora. What happened to you?"
"You wouldn't believe me, Danny. I think more's happened to me already this week than before."
"Coffee?"
"Please."
"Good, because I just made you one. Go ahead, tell me about it."
"First the Heartless started listening to me and taking commands from me. Roxas thinks the Arcology's power counts as some kind of affinity for darkness, which is all I needed to do it."
"Interesting."
"Yeah, well, now they're camped on Twilight Town, not listening to me any more, under someone else's influence, and Roxas, Jamie and the others are all trapped there. I can get in and out, but that's all, I can't port there or back and I can't get anyone else out."
"Inconvenient," Danny murmured. "Go on."
"I stuck up a note on the jobs board to get people to investigate it for me, waiting to hear back from that. Seifer was one of the takers, he got me to look into something else for him. Someone he was meant to meet who never turned up."
"I heard about that, actually. Rumour has it that he was being threatened by our Merle."
"They're not just rumours. I had to reduce her rank again to get her to stop it, and protect the artefact Lyle had. Then to top it all off, on the way out, this monster thing that attacked the ship, the entire reason it never arrived at the dock, attacked again, and I had to deal with it, and got covered in it's gunk. I still don't feel clean even after two showers."
"Trouble does seem to follow you around, doesn't it? You're changing, too."
"What do you mean?"
"What you did to Merle. That doesn't seem like the same you that first joined us. You're starting to accept the power and authority together and use them the way they're meant to be used."
"I had to do it. She wasn't listening, she wasn't taking orders."
"You did do it though. You didn't try to reason with her, or use force, instead you pulled rank." Danny stared into his cup for a few moments, then in a slightly distant tone, he continued, "The Arcology changes people, even me. No one is the same once it's got a claim on them. It leaves it's mark, even on those people who get forced to forget us and kicked out. Some accept it, some don't, but it happens all the same. There's no easy way back from it. Just hope it changes you in a good way."
"That's a gloomy thought."
"Someone had to mention it. You're starting to change, some of your ways, your habits, picking up new ones, dropping some older ones... I just don't want you to turn out badly from it."
"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine, you know me. Coffee?"
"Are you offering to make one?"
"Why not, it's not like there's anything I can do."
"Until you get the reports from your job on the board."
"Yup. Time to kick back again after that ordeal on the ship."
"Go on then. I could use a break this time."
"Take one, I'll keep things going for you."
"Thanks Sora."
"Don't mention it. Why don't you let me cook everyone dinner for a change too?"
"It's late enough, go ahead. Just ask me if you need a hand, and try not to burn anything."
"Me? Would I do that?"
Danny just laughed.

The next two days crawled past, and the end of the week dawned slowly. If dawned could be the right word, as the dark windows never changed, and the time in the Arcology always seemed to be slightly off from outside.
Over those past two days, he'd discovered Dog had finally got the rank up he'd sought for four long years, and that Merle, already sulking in a foul mood because of her situation, refusing to talk to anyone unless she had to. Danny had taken her aside this morning, and had quiet words with her. She left that conversation looking distinctly shaken. All Danny would say was 'that it was necessary' she listened to it.
The Heartless were still camped on Twilight Town. Nothing would budge them in the slightest, yet the still remained to cater to the needs of those stuck with them. He'd given up trying to find explanations, instead waiting for the report from Seifer about it. The other person who took it had come back with several injuries, having not been able to stand up to an attack by some Heartless, and without anything helpful.
As things were otherwise quiet, he was left with nothing much to do but lounge around. While he didn't mind this, he also admitted that Danny had been right, he'd changed a bit, and he found himself wanting to get back into doing something again.
His eyes fell on the desk computer in his room. He hadn't touched it once yet, so flicked it on, and watched it start up, not really paying much attention to it until it flashed 'system ready' on the screen.
Time to try something he'd seen once, and wasn't sure if it would work.
"Computer?"
It beeped, signifying it was paying attention, he reasoned.
"Show me... show me about the Arcology's store of artefacts and relics."
He'd been curious about this since seeing the artefact Lyle had retrieved for the Arcology, and had been meaning to find out more.
The screen flickered, showing more information already.
Apparently, there was a branch of the Arcology that sought out and retrieved various artefacts that were known to have magic or magic-like effects, and that they were kept safe and preserved in the Reliquary, a place forbidden to all, except on rare occasions. Reports suggested there were close to three hundred relics in there, with a wide assortment of abilities between them.
His glancing through was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Come on in," he called. Seifer joined him, looking decidedly weary, and sprawling into one of the squashy armchairs. "Coffee?"
"Stronger the better," he replied as Sora began to make it.
"So what brings you to my little place?"
"I've got a report to give you, remember? You aren't going to like it."
"I didn't think I was going to when those Heartless first started ignoring me."
"Yeah, well, this makes it worse. What do you know about the ranks and structure of the Arcology, Sora?"
"First rank through fifth rank, Seconds, Firsts, then those Authoritor people in someplace above."
"Ever heard of the Upper Management?"
"No, why?"
"It's the system above the Firsts. Not many people know much about it, normally only Firsts find out, though there's no actual rules preventing talking about it. It's just not done." Sora handed him a steaming cup of coffee, settling into the other armchair. "Thanks. That's perfect."
"Don't mention it. I've made more cups of coffee here when people stop by to talk to me than I have at Danny's café."
"You're not half bad at it either. Anyway, where was I?"
"The Upper Management."
"Yeah. Well, immediately above the Firsts, there's the Overseers, there's one on each floor. No one quite knows what they do, and those people who've been called in to see one, always say that you should wish you never have to. No one wants to talk about it. Right above them, the Authoritors, the ones who handle punishments, rulings, legal stuff and so on. If you ever go bounty hunting for rogue members, it's always one of them you take the bounty to."
"How often to they actually intervene in something?"
"Only if it's necessary, as I understand it. Beyond here, it's a lot of guesswork, so this next bit might be inaccurate. Above both of those two, there's a council of some kind, and two advisors at it's head, that report to the one person at the top of it all; the Grandmaster."
"Interesting, but how's this fit into the report on the Heartless?"
"It's the Grandmaster controlling them, Sora. If half of what I've manage to scratch up is true, he rules the works, has a veto that can overrule everyone, and doesn't like things going against him. Those Heartless are there for as long as he decides he wants them there."
"Does nothing go my way outside anymore?" he burst out in exasperation.
"Easy there. I hear tomorrow you've got your visit from the Authoritor again to see if you're becoming a First or not, and if you do, then you get to ask the Grandmaster in person. Just don't let on you already know about the Upper Management before they tell you. I might get in trouble over it."
"I've completely forgotten already."
"Thanks Sora. I owe you one."
"Did you check in with Lyle?"
"Yeah. He said you looked almost as green as the creature did after killing it."
"You owe me another one for that thing."
"Hey, what? I didn't know it was there," he protested.
"Well, tough. Neither did I. I didn't plan on going for a fight while protecting an artefact either, but it happened.
"Oh, alright then. I owe you two."
"Yep. Another coffee?"
"Nah, I've got to get going. I've got to go stop by the infirmary for an appointment again. I wish they'd leave me alone for a bit, I swear they get a kick out of annoying me as much as they can."

Once Seifer had left, he'd considered the options. He now knew who was controlling the Heartless, but not why. He had a potential means of reaching the Grandmaster tomorrow, if the review was good.
He'd decided another visit to town was needed. Maybe now that he knew who it was, he could do something about it.
Jamie met him as the Heartless parted for him.
"There was someone here a couple days ago," he said by way of greeting. "Said you'd want to know he stopped by."
"Who was he?"
"He didn't give his name, but he looked pretty unique. Had a blue wing, silver hair, and a black coat."
"Sephiroth," Sora identified him, knowing that description.
"He said he was the one controlling the Heartless."
"What?"
"That's what he said. He also said the Arcology-"
"He's the Grandmaster, I know now," he finished absently. So now he know more about who, but still nothing more about why.
"He also said he made this spear specifically for me."
"Did he say what he was up to?"
"Something about testing you, I think."
"Typical of him. Where's Roxas?"
"He might not want to talk to you right now, Sora. He's still a bit annoyed at you for making the Heartless come here."
"Unsociable of him," he muttered. "Least he could do is listen to me."
"I could take a message?"
"Too much trouble. And I'm feeling lazy right now."
They stood staring at the Heartless for a few silent minutes, the only sounds coming from the various townsfolk behind them. It hadn't been comfortable, but at least the weather had stayed good.
"I'm gonna go back to the Arcology. If I stop by tomorrow, let me know if Sephiroth turns up again will you?"
"Of course."
Jamie watched him leave without a change in his expression.

Sora waited impatiently. He'd had trouble sleeping, knowing what was coming today. Breakfast had been fairly normal, until Karen joined them. She told them she'd interview certain of the others in turn, then come to him last.
Now he was pacing in his room. She only had three others to talk to, Merle, Dog and Danny. How long did it take? It'd been nearly three hours.
Finally, she let herself in, not bothering to knock.
"Do Authoritors always come in unannounced, or did they just forget how to knock?" he asked, trying to keep irritability out of his voice.
"You were expecting me to come by anyway," she pointed out. "And I knew you'd be impatient, so I skipped the formality."
"Still... drink?"
"Not while I'm working, thank you all the same. Now, you know what this is about?"
"Naturally."
"Good. You'll be pleased to know that so far, everything is in your favour, though you're not meant to know that just yet. I just have a few questions for you, then I'll be able to make the judgement."
"What do you need to know?"
"If I can sit down, for a start. Would you mind?"
Taken by surprise, it took him a few moments before gesturing to a chair, taking one himself. "I guess I forgot about that," he confessed.
"You were more worried about my not knocking, it's understandable." She took out a clipboard, unclipped a pen, and poised it ready to write. "Danny tells me you pulled rank recently, on your former First?"
"She had ported to a ship, in violation of a somewhat obscure rule, was threatening another Arcology member, and ignored my ordering her to stop."
"Why that method? Why not try to reason with her?"
"There didn't seem to be much point," he shrugged. "She wouldn't listen, and was insistant on my having stolen her position. It seemed clear she wasn't going to change her mind."
"And how did you come to know about the rule forbidding porting to the ship?"
"Seifer told me, when he asked me to go there in his place. He'd have gone, except he falls foul of the rule as well."
"Seifer, the fifth rank under Swordsman?"
"Yeah, him. Knew him before here as well."
"And how are you adjusting to life here?"
"It's... different. I miss my old friends still. Haven't quite gotten used to everything here yet either, especially not having the ranks and everything. Some people see the markings and look almost afraid of me."
"You're a Second, you can give orders to anyone, regardless of their owner. There have been Seconds before that abused that. How did you feel when you realised your friends would never recognise you again?"
"Shocked. Couldn't believe it, and still don't. There's probably a way, I just haven't found it yet. I wish I could tell them. I can't though."
"You realise that's not exactly in your favour?"
"I know. I figure honesty's better than trying to lie my way upwards."
"You've just more than covered that mark against you with that statement, Sora. Last question."
"Go ahead."
"You know Dog has been trying to get his promotion out of the first rank for several years. He tells me you were responsible for his achieving this. How, exactly?"
"Oh, I didn't do anything. I just suggested to Danny that maybe it was time to properly recognise all he'd done, and give him what he deserves to have; a better rank."
Karen nodded one last time, writing away on the clipboard, flicking back and forward through several pages, writing some more, then finally clipping the pen back to it and getting to her feet.
Impatience and curiosity got the better of him. "Do I get it?"
"Patience, Sora. There's someone else who has to be present first, and we're going to see him now."
"Danny, isn't it."
"What makes you say that?"
"If I've got it, then he'll go back to being a Second, so he has to be present when you change the marks over."
"Interesting reasoning."
"So am I right?"
"Wait and see."