Jessica's Point of View

I didn't leave my room until the next day. It was still a struggle to walk, but it was getting easier. When I walked into the room and spotted Xaldin on a couch, sharpening one of his lances. I took a seat next to him. He grunted in annoyance but didn't say anything. "Hey. I'm sorry about when I- you know. I don't even know how to process everything. It's been so sudden, you know?" I apologized.

"I'm not interested in talking about your feelings right now, Jessica," Xaldin grumbled.

I wasn't used to him being so cold toward me. It stung me more than if he had yelled at me. "Are you mad at me?" I asked.

"You know very well how preposterous of a question that is," Xaldin scoffed.

"I know. My dad said something like that the last time I talked to him. He convinced Demyx to allow him to visit me a month ago," I mentioned. I knew that Xaldin said he didn't want to hear anything about my feelings, but once I started talking about the last time I saw my father, I couldn't stop. "I managed to get him to talk about my mother. Before he left, he said he would tell me more about her, but now he never will." A lump formed in the back of my throat, and there were tears yet again. "I'm sorry. I know you don't want to hear it. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Enough apologizing," Xaldin groaned.

"I'm so-" I stopped myself from apologizing again.

"Just go bother Xemnas. He's the one who dotes on you. I don't have the energy to pretend to care or comfort you right now," Xaldin huffed.

"Xemnas is the last person I want to see. He almost ripped up one of my father's science journals to punish me," I replied.

For the first time since I came into the room, Xaldin stopped what he was doing and turned to me. "He did what?!" He exclaimed.

"I was angry, and I made a stupid comment. He told me there would be consequences if I didn't apologize, and when I refused, he took one of my father's journals and slowly almost ripped a page out. I don't know what to do, Xaldin. I'm not myself right now. One misstep could lead to my father's things being destroyed, or worse, Zexion's." I went into another fit of uncontrollable sobs.

"That is rather extreme. Perhaps you should discuss this with Xigbar. He is the only one of us that may be able to sway Xemnas to use a less damaging form of punishment," Xaldin mused.

"Xigbar wouldn't do that. He likes seeing me suffer," I commented.

"He may surprise you. Even he would agree that Xemnas should not have done that to you. Go talk to him," Xaldin urged.

Xigbar teleported in front of us. "Talk to me about what?" He wondered. I squeaked in surprise.

Xaldin got up from the couch and turned to me. "You need to tell him. I cannot do anything about your predicament, but he may be able to," Xaldin stated before leaving the room.

Xigbar plopped on the couch where Xaldin had been sitting. "So, what is this thing that I can help you with?" Xigbar asked.

"It's nothing. It's stupid," I mumbled.

"As if. Xaldin didn't seem to think so, and if he thinks it's serious, it probably is. He hasn't been the same since the guys at Castle Oblivion were sent to oblivion. What's on your mind, sweetheart?" Xigbar pressed.

"Sweetheart? What happened to Bun Head?" I grumbled.

"I know you didn't like Bun Head, so I'm trying something new. See? I can be sensitive," Xigbar smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. I was just telling Xaldin about how I got angry at Xemnas and said something stupid, and Xemnas started to rip a page out of one of my father's science journals until I apologized."

"Man, that's extreme. He's usually pretty lenient with you. What did you say to him?" Xigbar inquired.

"I mean, it wasn't anything too crazy, I guess. I don't even remember anymore. It was stupid. I was angry with everyone around me, and I refused to apologize. Xemnas is just going harder on me because my dad isn't here to do it," I explained.

"Oh, I get it. He's trying to fill in for your dad, and now he's way more strict," Xigbar summarized.

I knew it was a stretch to get any favors from Xigbar, but I started to have a small hope that Xaldin was right. "Xaldin suggested that you might talk to him about easing up. If he were to listen to anyone, it would be you," I added.

"You got that right. I'll tell you what? If I keep your father's and Zexion's things safe, you owe me a favor. It's going to be a big one, so be prepared," Xigbar offered.

"What do you need me to do?" I questioned.

"Where would the fun be if I tell you now? Besides, I won't need anything for what I think will be a pretty long time. You won't have to worry about it for what I expect to be the next several years. What do you say?" Xigbar assured me.

On one hand, I hated being indebted to Xigbar. On the other hand, I didn't want to lose a single document that my father or Zexion had written. "It's a deal. Just know that if Xemnas so much as touches anything in the lab, the deal's off," I decided.

A Nobody I didn't recognize walked into the room. "Who's that?" I wondered.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. You haven't met Poppet and Kiddo yet. Our two newest members. They're both keyblade wielders. Her name is Xion. Roxas, the other one, is in a coma right now. Roxas got here about a month ago, and Xion was a week after," Xigbar answered.

"Is she friendly?" I wondered. I didn't want to go near her if she was anything like Larxene or Marluxia.

"Yeah, they're both friendly. In fact, they're around your age," Xigbar commented.

I slowly got up, but I stumbled a little. Xigbar stood up and helped me get my balance. I walked carefully to Xion. "Hello. I'm Jessica. I heard you're new," I introduced.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Xion. I haven't seen you at all. Are you new?" Xion asked.

"Not really. I grew up here. I was just gone on a really long trip. I was in Atlantica, so I'm a little uneasy on my feet. I have to readjust to gravity," I sighed.

"Atlantica? I haven't been there," Xion mused.

"It's an underwater world. I was a mermaid. Demyx is the only one who can make a dark corridor underwater, so any missions there would have to be with him," I mentioned.

"An underwater world? That sounds amazing. Well, it was nice meeting you. I'm going to go see Roxas," Xion replied.

"Xigbar said he was in a coma," I brought up.

"He is. I've been visiting with him every day, hoping he'll wake up," Xion explained.

"Oh, I get it. Can I come? Even if I can't talk to him, it would be interesting to see him. We don't get new people around here very often," I requested.

"Of course. His room is this way," Xion agreed.

We started to leave the Grey Area. "Xion!" Xigbar called after her. We turned back to Xigbar. "Keep an eye on her. She's still weak from her trip, so if she needs to stop along the way, wait with her, and make sure she doesn't overexert herself. You and Kiddo wouldn't know, but she's very special to the organization. If anything were to happen to her, Xemnas would be furious."

"I'll be fine. It's just a short walk. You don't need to baby me," I grumbled. We continued on to Roxas's room. It wasn't that far from my room. When we went inside, I could hardly believe my eyes. "Ven?!" There he was, sleeping on a bed next to seashells.

"Who's Ven? That's Roxas," Xion stated.

"Please excuse me. I- Something has come up. I'll see you around," I said. I left the room in a hurry.

Samantha: I may do something like that when Roxas wakes up, which won't be for a few chapters.