"Roxas… are you really sure you don't have a heart?"

"I thought we had done away with the replica program as a dismal failure."

Vexen cleared his throat and shifted in his seat at Saïx's remark. He stuttered slightly in his rebuttal, "Th-this was just something I'd been working on in my spare time. On a hunch. But when I realized its potential for helping us to reach our goals, I had to make this proposition."

"You're not seriously considering creating another replica? Haven't those creatures caused us enough trouble?" Saïx eyed Zexion as he asked this question, prompting Vexen to glance over at him nervously as well. Zexion made no outward reaction, choosing not to open the can of worms on everyone's mind. It was disturbing enough to entertain the idea of another replica being created after having nearly been killed by one.

Vexen gulped audibly before countering, "Y-yes, I admit my earlier models were flawed, but this will not really be a replica. It will be a lifeless vessel, completely incapable of the same flaws as the previous replicas."

Xemnas waved a hand just as Saïx was preparing to protest. "I am loath to resume the replica program, considering its unfortunate results of late. However, I will allow Vexen to explain his new invention."

Vexen's face lit up with excitement at his boss's approval. He sat frozen for a few seconds, collecting his bearings before beginning his presentation.

"I spent so much time trying to make my vessels more human that I lost sight of their true purpose as vessels. Essentially, I stripped away all of the unnecessary fluff and went back to the basics. I have created a new vessel, with the express purpose of absorbing memories and hearts, nothing more, nothing less. At its most basic level, it is an empty shell with nothing of substance inside, designed to siphon a person's essence and become a perfect copy of them, indistinguishable from the original. It won't even have a human form, so there's no risk of it developing an identity of its own. Furthermore, I intend to implant this vessel inside one of our own, protecting it from influence outside the realm of our own intentions."

There was an immediate hush in the room in response to this surprising new feature. It was only broken when Saïx finally asked the question every member had in their minds, "And who will be the one to carry this vessel?"

Vexen hesitated before giving his answer. "The most compatible candidate… is Roxas."

Every head shot up. Many eyes landed on Vexen, and many more fell to Roxas' empty chair. Axel longed to speak up on his friend's behalf, but his mind swirled with so many questions that he could not separate them into coherent thoughts.

Vexen continued his explanation in a more frantic tone, hoping to quell the anxiety in the room. "If we want to get to Sora, we have to go through Roxas. He's most likely to attract the memories that have gone astray, and could potentially lead us right to the lost heart we seek."

"Why not just put it in a replica? Seems harsh to stick it in the poor kid after what he's been through." Xigbar, lying sideways in his seat and appearing disinterested, surprised the scientist with his interest for the finer details of the experiment.

"If I put it in a replica, it runs the risk of forming memories of its own, while at the same time claiming the memories it absorbs. It will develop its own identity, just like the last one, and the one before it. This new model will not spend any time in human form as a blank slate, and therefore will not have the time to form a sense of self."

Xemnas, casually leaning over the arm of his tall chair, stroked his chin as he listened intently to the presentation. His face was unreadable by everyone in the room, eliciting several nervous shuffles from the eager scientist.

"What happens then?" Saïx posed yet another question in an exasperated tone. "Suppose your new vessel works and it absorbs everything we need. What do you do with it then?"

Vexen casually sat back in his chair, finally able to give Saïx a confident answer. "At that point, we will have the essence of the person we wish to copy, in its entirety. I'll simply take it out and put it into a human replica. Since all the memory fragments will be intact at the time it's implanted, the replica would awaken as a perfect copy of our target, and even though it will begin to form its own memories, it will be incapable of identifying as anyone other than the person we intended to copy."

This grabbed Xemnas' attention. His back straightened and he sat upright, staring earnestly at Vexen. His surprised expression slowly turned to one of curiosity and sinister delight. A small grin formed on his lips, which he quickly masked with an expression of concern.

"Surely this new invention will not be without its risks?"

Vexen turned to Zexion with a nervous look in his eyes. Zexion retained his composure and turned toward Xemnas. "There is of course a risk that it will not work. I'd consider that to be the easiest problem to correct." Axel leaned forward in his chair, ready to protest, but was interrupted by Zexion's continuing explanation. "Roxas' body may reject it, which could be potentially fatal to him. But I would say that outcome is statistically unlikely."

Xemnas frowned at this news, but waited for Zexion to continue his explanation. Zexion resumed without missing a beat. "Because of the nature of this vessel, there is a possibility that it would merge with Roxas. His memories, broken and incomplete as they are, would incorporate with the ones gathered by the vessel, and his heart could be overtaken by the one we're looking for, causing Roxas to take the form of the heart's true owner. We would still have our copy, but we would lose Roxas entirely."

Axel couldn't believe what he was hearing. He could think of no situation where anyone would agree to a procedure with risks such as these, but if Xemnas approved, Roxas would be volunteered without his consent, risking his very existence for an experiment. He was appalled that the Organization would ask any member to sacrifice themselves in this manner. Beyond that, Axel was well aware that once this new copy was created, they'd have no use for Roxas anymore. Either way, Roxas would be lost.

"So if your little experiment works, we lose Roxas. If it doesn't, we lose Roxas. I'm not sure I see the benefits here."

There was yet another pause, prompting Xemnas to speak up once again. "Axel has a fair point. To have such a perfect copy would be an incredible advantage for the Organization, but it would be a shame to lose Roxas and gain nothing in return."

Axel looked incredulously at Xemnas with a gasp, shocked at his agreement. Zexion continued to argue in defense of the experiment, "We do believe the risks are minimal. The statistical probability of any complications is insignificant. If anything goes wrong, it is most likely to happen early enough for us to extract the vessel from Roxas before any permanent damage is done. I predict the most likely of risks he would experience will be some dizziness and disorientation, perhaps some sleep disturbance."

There were several agonizing seconds of suspenseful silence. Xemnas had returned to leaning and stroking his chin. Vexen shifted in his seat once more. Axel sat completely still, arms crossed, fuming. Saïx shot him a look of disapproval. Other Organization members glanced around the room, their gaze consciously avoiding Roxas' chair. Every second felt like a month, heavy with anticipation.

"Vexen, I am intrigued by your presentation. The potential gains for the Organization are enormous, while the potential losses are very little. As soon as Roxas is recovered, I will approve the continuation of this experiment, provided the progress is strictly monitored and thoroughly documented."

Axel could no longer contain himself, "Wait a minute! We're not even going to ask Roxas for his consent?"

Saïx chimed in, irritated by Axel's disruption, "Roxas made the same commitment to the cause that we all made. We are all expected to—"

"I don't think any one of us signed up for sacrificing their very existence! I certainly didn't!"

"We certainly have, Axel. We Nobodies no longer have an existence."

Xemnas raised a hand to swiftly end the arguments before turning to Vexen and Zexion. "Roxas is a valued member of the Organization. You will ensure that he is well-informed prior to the initiation of this experiment, sans any unpleasant details. It is important that he understands the benefits of his service to the Organization. See to it that he is made comfortable."

Xemnas kept his hand raised, preventing any interruptions as he turned and addressed the room. "Our original plans will be carried out upon a successful completion of this experiment. I trust that I don't need to explain why no one is to speak of this to Roxas. With his history of defection, it is imperative that his knowledge of the true nature of this experiment be limited. Do not force my hand with any disobedience."

Xemnas lowered his hand, seeming to look every member directly in the eyes at once.

"Dismissed."

"How could you just sit there and let them do that?!"

Axel, redfaced, had stormed into Roxas' room, knowing he would find Zexion there. He shouted at the man, loud enough to wake anyone else if they were sleeping right beside him as Roxas was. Still, Roxas did not stir, his face never shifting from its neutral state.

Zexion did not look into Axel's eyes as he tried to respond in hushed tones. "Axel, listen to me—"

"No, you listen! They just signed off on a possible death sentence for Roxas and all because you convinced them! How do you sleep at night, Zexion?"

"Axel, if you would just let me—"

"I can't believe you would let Roxas be sacrificed like this!"

"He won't be!" Zexion shouted back, having finally lost his patience. Axel maintained his seething glare, crossing his arms and awaiting the explanation.

"I wouldn't have allowed them to authorize a procedure that would result in the total loss of one of our members. Roxas will be fine, Axel. I know what I'm doing."

Axel, never breaking his fiery gaze, grabbed a chair and plunked it on the floor in front of him, straddling it backwards and leaning in toward the scientist with an impatient expression. Zexion heaved an exasperated sigh and set his electronic notepad on the table before turning back to face him.

"The vessel will collect memories. It will seek out the lost heart, and it might even find it. But I have no reason to believe it will actually merge with him and turn him into somebody else. That tactic might have worked on a replica, it might have worked on some of our other members, but it won't work on Roxas."

"Why? How do you know it won't work?"

Zexion lowered his voice even further, almost whispering. "Because he's Sora's Nobody. Sora has absorbed other hearts before, he's had his memories scrambled, but never transformed into anyone other than Sora."

"Sora has a heart!"

"And are you so sure that Roxas does not?"

The argument was immediately halted at these words. Axel stared at Zexion with disbelief. He had heard some crazy things come out of his mouth, but this suggestion took the cake. How could a man of science possibly make such a ridiculous claim?

"You… you think Roxas has a heart? Are you joking?"

"Roxas is different from the rest of us. I don't think the idea is entirely implausible."

Axel stroked his chin, contemplating this theory of Zexion's. He certainly had a good point; Roxas was different from the rest of them. The fact that he possessed his own separate body was proof enough of that. Who could really say that separate body didn't have its own heart? Axel shuddered to think what this could mean if Naminé managed to complete her work on restoring Sora's memory. As they spoke, she was hard at work trying to piece Sora's heart back together, but some of those pieces were inside Roxas. It was why he was kidnapped and stuck in the simulated town in the first place. What would happen to Roxas if they were successful in taking those fragments back?

"Then… what would happen to Roxas? If it merged with him, what would that mean?"

Zexion glanced around the room and at the door before cautiously responding, "I believe Roxas will absorb it, rather than it absorb Roxas."

"So the experiment will fail."

"Precisely. It will appear as if the vessel were faulty in some way. We'll remove it and Vexen will return to the drawing board."

Axel sighed, overwhelmed by the day's events. He dropped his head to his hands, lost for words.

"Axel… I think the experiment will go exactly as Vexen plans. It's going to collect what we need and then we will take it out. Even in this delicate state, I think Roxas' own sense of self and strong will are too powerful to just be overtaken by some memory fragments and a damaged heart."

Axel peeked around his shoulder at Roxas. There was a skip in the pattern of his breaths, prompting Zexion to hurry over and examine him. Axel joined him, watching apprehensively as he pressed one end of a peculiar device to Roxas' chest, listening intently to the other end. Axel felt a strange catch in his own chest and a twisting sensation in his stomach. His brow furrowed as he rubbed his sternum, biting his lip to keep the nausea at bay.

After a few moments of tense silence, Zexion put his device away. "His pulse has elevated. I'm not sure why, but I'd like to keep an eye on it. Do alert me if it happens again. I presume you'll be here for the night?"

Axel nodded, dragging his chair back to his usual resting place and sinking heavily into it. Zexion gathered his equipment and headed for the door. He paused when he reached Axel's position, wanting desperately to say something regarding the man's health of late. It was obvious to anyone that he was noticeably thinner, and the shadows beneath his eyes were poorly concealed. But Axel had been through enough today, and had heard plenty of his clinical lecturing on this topic. Zexion gently laid a hand on his shoulder for a moment before leaving the room.

The steady rise and fall of Roxas' chest had returned to its normal rhythm. As Axel watched him sleep, his mind flooded with memories of sitting on the clock tower with him. He longed to see that face's warm smile once more. He willed those eyes to open and those lips to speak. He missed his friend, and wasn't sure how much longer he could stand the loneliness of his absence. His throat began to feel tight, as if an enormous lump were stuck in it. He sighed, letting his forehead fall onto the mattress, digging his fingertips into the back of his scalp. With his face buried into the mattress, he listened to the sound of Roxas' breathing. He waited to hear another interruption in the pattern, however brief it might be, but he never did. After awhile, he felt his eyelids growing heavy, and quickly drifted off to join his friend in sleep.