"Ow! Stop it! You're hurting me!" Thrashing around on the metal examination table, Demyx jerked his arm away from Zexion's delicate grasp, cradling it close to his chest.

"Demyx, would you just hold still? I haven't even done anything yet."

Zexion gently reached for Demyx's arm again, and Demyx reluctantly extended it for him, wincing at even the lightest touch. Zexion rotated it, inspecting the wound closely for several seconds before releasing it. As Demyx clutched the arm to his chest again, Zexion reached under the table for a large plastic tub.

"Have I lost too much blood? Do I need a transfusion? Do I need stitches? Am I going to have a scar?!"

"Demyx, for crying out loud…"

"What about my leg? It's broken, isn't it? I'll be incapacitated for weeks, right?"

Zexion was across the room, collecting more supplies when he called back to him, growing increasingly annoyed with his hysterics. "You twisted your ankle running away in the sand. It's the most minor sprain I've ever seen. You'll walk out of here tonight."

"It was just supposed to be a recon mission… the thing was huge… it came out of nowhere!"

Demyx gazed at his arm with a devastated expression, as if he were truly heartbroken to have injured such a vital limb. Zexion returned with his supplies and suspended Demyx's injured arm over the plastic tub while wringing out a wet towel.

"Well you're lucky, then, that you came away with such minor injuries."

The second he touched Demyx's arm with the wet towel, the cowardly man yelped and tried to yank his arm back, but Zexion refused to let go this time.

"Ow!! Now what are you doing?!"

"Am I going to have to sedate you just to clean the sand out of it?"

"That would be preferable!"

"Well I'm not going to. Now settle down and let me work."

Zexion poured water over Demyx's arm, and it carried blood and sand along with it as it flowed over his skin and into the tub. Demyx obediently remained still with his eyes squeezed shut, holding his breath with a pained grimace etched on his face. Taking notice of his continued discomfort, Zexion appealed to his patient's sense of logic.

"Demyx, it's water."

"It's cold."

Zexion barely suppressed a chuckle at Demyx's sensitivity. Relieved that he was at least keeping still, he began his second attempt with the towel. Demyx squirmed as Zexion wiped around the edges of his torn flesh, examining the extent of the damage once the sand was cleared away. The cuts weren't very deep, but would still require some stitches. Zexion sighed, having no idea how he'd manage that on such a jittery patient.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea popped into his head. Praising himself for his genius, Zexion rushed to a nearby closet and rummaged around inside for a moment. When he found what he'd been looking for, he quickly returned to the table and handed Demyx a stuffed Moogle plushie.

"Here, Demyx."

"What's this for?"

Without answering, Zexion braced the injured limb to keep Demyx from jerking it away, knowing he had to work fast. Prepared for the worst, he took a breath and emptied a beaker of clear liquid over Demyx's arm. Demyx began squealing and writhing almost immediately, his tears absorbing into the doll's soft fur as he hugged it tightly.

"Argh! That stings!"

"I know. I'm sorry, Demyx." Zexion kept his voice soft and calm in contrast to Demyx's tortured cries. Waiting for the solution to work, he did not relinquish his hold on his arm, no matter how hard Demyx thrashed. "Squeeze the Moogle."

"How could you?! Why didn't you warn me?!"

"It's better this way. Trust me."

"You are evil, Zexion!"

"You won't be saying that in a few seconds when it's gone numb. Seriously, squeeze the Moogle."

Sterilized at last, Zexion went to work repairing the injury. Demyx settled considerably as the pain subsided, quieting his pitiful screams and slouching his shoulders as his body relaxed. He looked on with fascination as all the feeling left his arm, surprised to see Zexion touching him but not feeling any of it.

"There, now, that's much better. This is going to go a lot more smoothly now that you're calm. Now, look away, you don't want to watch this part."

Zexion thanked his lucky stars that he still had the stuffed Moogle doll from all those years ago. Master Ansem the Wise had gifted it to him as a child, and for many years, he absolutely could not go to sleep without it. Now grown, he no longer had any use for it, but could never bring himself to let it go. He briefly stole a glance at Demyx, finding it endearing that it brought him comfort even as a grown man. The sight of him clinging desperately to the same doll was — for lack of a better term — heartwarming.

"Well, good news, Demyx. You get to keep the arm." Finished with the stitching, Zexion started wrapping up Demyx's arm with white gauze. Demyx took one look and recoiled in horror.

"It's hideous! I'm a monster!"

"Oh come on, it's not that bad."

"I'm going to end up like Saïx! Or Xigbar! Permanently disfigured!"

Zexion sighed, hiding his smile at Demyx's dramatic exclamations. "You're welcome, Demyx. Now clear out of here and go get some rest."

"I'm keeping the Moogle!"

Demyx defiantly limped to the door, pressing the soft toy to his face. Zexion, watching him with an amused smirk, could think of no one more deserving of the Moogle doll. As long as it was making someone feel better as it had for him, Zexion could comfortably part with it. Demyx stopped short when he reached the doorway, turning back to flash a grateful smile at his the young apprentice. Without a word, his thanks were clearly expressed, and, slightly flushed, he staggered out into the hall, Moogle in tow.

"Hey, Roxas. I figured I'd find you here."

Roxas neither looked up nor spoke. As his legs hung from the edge of the clock tower, he stared blankly at the colorful sunset, his face unreadable. Axel, treading carefully, seated himself beside his friend as he always did, taking in the sight of the wistfully blowing clouds and the fresh smell of the breeze. Minutes passed without a word before Axel tried to initiate a conversation again.

"So, uh… how was your mission?"

Roxas remained motionless, but at least offered a soft and emotionless response. "Didn't have one today."

Axel tried to lighten the mood, smiling at him and continuing the polite small-talk. "Wow, a day off? Nice! I had to go to Agrabah with Demyx again. I tell ya, with all that heat and sand, I'm gonna need like four showers just to stop feeling gross…"

"I had to be at a meeting today. Saix gave me the day off afterward."

Axel's face fell as he realized what that meeting must have been about. Roxas still hadn't budged, staring intently at the horizon, expressionless and subdued. Axel tried to sift through the noise in his head to find the right words to say, only to come up empty-handed. Roxas pulled up his knees and rested his chin on them, now looking down at the ground below instead of the sky above. After several more seconds of uncomfortable silence, Axel reached out once more.

"Do you… do you want to talk about it?"

Roxas didn't respond right away, battling with himself over what he truly wanted in this moment. On the one hand, Axel was his best friend, and he was certain he could tell him anything. Axel had never failed to make Roxas feel better even in the darkest of times. On the other hand, talking about it would open up the wound all over again, forcing Roxas to face the awful truth a second time. It was more comfortable for now to avoid it, knowing he'd eventually have to address it either way, but was it healthy? Roxas neither knew nor cared. All he really wanted was for this feeling to go away. Axel was his best shot at making that happen.

"Axel… I'm pregnant."

Roxas felt dizzy having to say the words again. His mind cycled through emotion after emotion; fear, anger, humiliation, confusion… there was no end to the spinning. He hoped presenting the news to Axel with no preface or warning would adequately convey the way it felt when it was announced to him, like being hit from behind when you thought you were alone in the room.

"The thing they put in me… it turned into something… they don't know what it is, but it's alive and it's growing…"

Axel could only stare at him with pity and sympathy. He knew this was coming, and he dreaded this very conversation. Now he had a choice to make, whether he should tell Roxas he knew ahead of time or pretend that this was the first he'd heard. He decided on neither for now, choosing not to volunteer anything and let Roxas have the time he needed to talk.

"They said it's attached itself to me… they can't even take it out. They don't know what it's going to do. They're just going to leave it there and see what happens…"

He hugged his knees tighter, the only comfort he could attain being the feeling of his own arms wrapped around himself. Axel, still speechless, averted his eyes to offer Roxas a semblance of privacy. He would soon have to endure enough staring for a lifetime, and Axel had no intention of contributing to that unwelcome scrutiny.

"They said they'll make me as comfortable as they can. They told me that my safety would be their first priority. They promised… that I have nothing to be afraid of…"

Roxas, feeling his throat tighten and his eyes well up, was unable to continue talking. He buried his face in his knees, hiding from Axel as he let the tears fall down his cheeks. Axel, moved by his friend's sorrow, cautiously laid a hand on Roxas' back. Feeling his trembling brought back the painful stabbing sensation in Axel's sternum. He began to feel weighed down by the guilt born of his inaction. He didn't fight hard enough to protect Roxas, and this was the result of his hesitation.

The air was heavy with Roxas' pain and fear, and Axel felt helpless to cut through it and put his friend at ease. The poor kid didn't deserve this. Had he the choice to do so, Axel would have taken Roxas' place without a second thought. Roxas had been through enough. Axel scooted closer to his friend and wrapped an arm around him.

"Roxas… I know there's nothing I could possibly say… but I want you to know that I'm here. No matter what that thing decides to do… I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

It was a long time before Roxas' quiet weeping died down and he could look up at his friend. Axel hadn't moved a muscle, and his warm, protective touch gave Roxas a sense of security. Wiping his face, he smiled at him, relieved to have him around for such a trying ordeal.

"Thank you, Axel. I'm glad you're here."

Axel smiled back, giving him a gentle squeeze around the shoulders. "Hey, what are best friends for?"

"We gave Roxas the news today."

"And how did he take it?"

"As well as he could, I suppose. I'm not sure he's fully accepted it yet."

"Such courage… His dedication is admirable."

There was an uncomfortable silence as both men processed the situation at hand. No one could have predicted such a catastrophic failure as that which befell Roxas. Xemnas was leaning back in his seat, eyes closed and fingers clasped meditatively. Saïx didn't wish to interrupt his contemplation, but he had come for answers and wouldn't be leaving without them.

"This is quite an interesting turn of events."

"I would tend to agree. We've found ourselves in… quite a pickle."

"Will this new variable change our plans?"

"I am not certain. Sending him to Castle Oblivion could prove either fruitful… or fatal."

Saïx took to staring at the floor as he collected his thoughts. A failure should have meant they would stop the experiment, yet Xemnas allowed it to continue. It didn't make sense. How would they reach their goals now? What did he really want from Castle Oblivion? "Sir… How far we will be allowing this to progress? At what point will we decide the benefits no longer outweigh the risks?"

There was a pause and Xemnas did not respond. Growing impatient, Saïx spoke again with a firm tone. "Sir, for all we know, the entity is hostile, bent on destroying Roxas from the inside out. It could take out the entire Organization next. It appears benign now, but could turn very ugly very quickly and with no warning."

Xemnas glanced at him with a poised smile. "Ah, yes… an echo to Axel's objection. Nevertheless, a sensible one. Unfortunately, this situation is an unknown from every angle. Without knowing what to prepare for, we cannot decide where our boundaries lie."

"Then… We are improvising?"

"Precisely. As of now, the progression seems to be slow enough to allow ample reaction time should something go wrong. We do still need Roxas if this experiment fails. We will not allow him to be lost."

Question after question burned in Saïx's mind. Something already had gone wrong, so why were they not reacting? Why was Xemnas taking such an enormous risk for a failed experiment?

What are you planning, Xemnas?

"Understood, sir."

Xemnas softened his voice as he added an update to put Saïx at ease. "I have instructed Vexen and Zexion to find a way to safely sever the connections. Let us hope that they are successful."

Saïx looked up at him, surprised by the conflicting information. Xemnas was very good at hiding his motives, and it would take quite a bit of digging to find them. "I shall keep my fingers crossed."