Jessica's Point of View

Xigbar and I were on better terms when he brought me home. I still didn't feel good about his betrayal, but I could at least understand why. I went straight to Axel's room to wake him up. "Hey, Axel, I'm back," I greeted.

"Great. Get out of my room," Axel mumbled.

"But you said you would take me to the Clock Tower," I reminded.

"I'll take you later. Let me sleep."

"There won't be a later. It's late enough as it is."

Axel slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?" He asked before grabbing his alarm clock.

"Time to go! Let's go!" I exclaimed cheerfully.

"Alright, alright. Let's get going," Axel sighed. He opened a dark corridor, and we went through.


After grabbing our ice cream, we joined Roxas on the Clock Tower. "Fancy meeting you here," Axel greeted.

"Axel, Jess," Roxas replied as he noticed us.

"Hey, Roxas," I smiled.

Axel stretched dramatically. "Slept like a log."

Axel and I sat next to Roxas and began enjoying our ice cream. I couldn't help but comment on Axel's sleeping habits. "It's his thing. I don't get to spend a lot of my vacations with him because he sleeps through them." I began to think about other vacations. "Then again, I never needed to spend them with anyone. I always had my dad and Zexion."

"Right. Your dad would take you both out when you were younger, and then when you got older, it was mostly you and Zexion, wasn't it?" Axel recalled. I stared into the sunset, unable to bring myself to respond. "Hey, chin up. They would want you to think back on those memories with a smile because you had them. Not with a frown because you lost them."

I turned back to Axel. "Yeah. You're right?"

Axel looked at the world below. "Are the kids here on summer vacation already? Nah, can't be. It's much too early."

I followed Axel's gaze to see three kids around my age chasing each other. "That looks fun," I smiled.

"Summer vacation? What's that?" Roxas wondered.

"A dream come true, that's what- a whole month off," Axel explained.

"I've never been so lucky to experience it," I added. Since I never went to a traditional school, I never got more time off than what Xemnas deemed necessary.

"A month?!" Roxas exclaimed. Axel nodded before Roxas continued. "How do they hang on to their sanity? I can't even figure out how to fill a day."

"You'd be surprised. They give you plenty of homework, and of course, you have to play with your friends every day. Trust me, it's over before you can blink. You would have liked it, Jess," Axel mentioned.

"Hmm... I could deal with a week, maybe," Roxas mused.

"Most kids just spend the time goofing off with their friends. They save the homework till the end and then help each other finish it." Axel added.

"That sounds fun, I guess," Roxas decided.

"Hanging around friends is fun. I'd forgotten all about that since becoming a Nobody, I guess. So, how did you spend your day?" Axel wondered.

"Hey, guys. How did I know you'd be here?" Xion's voice asked. I turned to see her approach us before she sat next to me.

"Where did you go, Xion?" Roxas wondered.

"I didn't go anywhere. What about you three? Did you guys go somewhere without me? I was surprised to see that you weren't around, Jess. I thought you were stuck in the castle."

"Xemnas gave me special permission today. I went with Xigbar to a world where I used to live."

"You went with Xigbar? Axel, did you know and still not take her?" Roxas demanded accusingly.

"No, it wasn't Axel's fault. I chose to go with Xigbar," I assured him.

"Why would you do that?" Roxas asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Reasons," I replied, not giving him any more to go off of. I didn't want to open up that can of worms with my friends, who would likely worry about it.

Roxas seemed to sense my unwillingness to give more of an explanation, so he changed the subject while trying to lighten the mood. "Axel went somewhere. He went to sleep."

Xion laughed. "What kind of vacation is that?"

"Unlike the three lazybones you are, I work hard, so I'm tired, okay?" Axel teased.

"Unlike me, Roxas, and Jess, maybe you're just out of shape," Xion retorted.

The four of us laughed at Xion's jab. "It's good to be back here," I commented.

"I'm glad you could come today," Xion replied.

"Same here," Roxas added.

"Ditto," Axel agreed. We finished our ice cream before Axel continued. "Tomorrow, it's back to work."

"Yeah..." Roxas sighed.

"Hope we get another vacation soon," Xion brought up.

"Oh, before I forget... I might not see you guys again for a little while," Axel mentioned as he stood up on the ledge.

"Huh?" Roxas asked.

Axel began to stretch as he gave his explanation. "They're sending me out on recon for a few days."

"Where?" Xion inquired.

Axel put his finger to his lips. "Can't tell."

"What's up with that?" Roxas demanded.

"It's classified," Axel replied.

"But I thought we were friends," Xion tried.

"Ooh, she played the friends card. It's really serious now," I taunted.

"Hey, I'm not about to tell you all my dark secrets. Got it memorized?" Axel commented.

"I don't have any dark secrets," Roxas denied.

Axel chuckled. "I'm kidding. I just gotta keep my mouth shut about it, or else Saix will get on my case. You know how he can get." He pointed at us briefly to emphasize his point.

Roxas nodded. "Yeah."

"Try not to bungle everything while I'm gone, huh? That goes double for you, Jess," Axel teased.

"Now, why would we do that?" Xion's smirked, putting her arm around me.

"Well, considering you're track record, I just can't count on you guys," Axel goaded.

"Hey! Don't make me come over there!" Xion huffed.

"Slug him for me, Roxas," I tried. Roxas swung loosely, but Axel blocked easily before he started laughing.

"We can handle things just fine!" Xion remarked.

"That's right, just you watch!" Roxas agreed.

"I suppose I'll behave. I have to prove you wrong, now, don't I?" I sighed.

We continued to chat about everything and take verbal jabs at each other in a friendly manner, but like all things, it had to come to an end.

"Hey, Jess, it's getting late. We gotta get you home before Xemnas freaks," Axel mentioned. I wilted at the thought of going home. "Hey, I know you don't want to, but we all knew you had to at some point."

"Yeah... I know."

"Maybe Xemnas will start letting you come with us again soon," Xion suggested hopefully.

I mustered as much of a smile as I could before following Axel through a dark corridor. We were walking through the corridors to our rooms when Saix stopped us. "What took you so long?" He questioned.

Axel and I turned around to face him. "It's my vacation. I can take all the time I want," Axel remarked.

"And Xemnas said I could go out so long as I came back by the end of the day," I added.

"I'm aware. He gave me instructions to send you to the Altar of Naught." Saix stated.

My eyes widened. "I'm not in trouble, am I?" I couldn't think of any reason Xemnas would be mad at me.

"You had better go see," Saix scoffed.

Axel placed his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him, and he was glaring daggers at Saix. "Don't play games with her like that. Is she in trouble or not?" Saix was silent. "Answer the question," Axel said through gritted teeth.

"You're not in trouble, but you best be on your way. He's been waiting," Saix sighed.

I hesitated.

"Go on. You can always come to see me when you're done," Axel reassured me.

I nodded and walked to the Alter of Naught, though the dread never left me. I forced myself to tread on, one step after the other, though I wanted to turn around and head back to the safety of my room or possibly Xion's. As I entered the Altar of Naught, Xemnas didn't show any emotion, which saved me the pain of being manipulated by his pretending. The only indication of recognition I was in the room was his eyes boring into me. I stopped a few feet away, taking caution. "So, you have returned," Xemnas began as though he wasn't expecting it.

"Yes," I replied, fearing that if I said anything more, my life would turn to chaos.

"I almost didn't think you would. Where were you?" Xemnas questioned.

"I was with Xigbar during the day and Axel this afternoon. I'm sorry I was back so late. You didn't give me a time to be back by, so I assumed I didn't have a curfew," I said.

"I didn't ask who you were with. I asked where you were," Xemnas stated.

The possibility that Xigbar didn't tell Xemnas where we had been occurred to me. While I didn't want to tell Xemnas in case I were to get in trouble, I knew more trouble would come if I didn't, and Xigbar told him later. "I was in Twilight Town when I was with Axel... and... when I was with Xigbar..." I braced myself. "I was in Radiant Gardens." I could feel my body shaking in fear as I waited for what Xemnas would do next.

"Are you aware that I had told the others they were to not allow you to return to Radiant Gardens after your incident where you made yourself known to the residents?" Xemans inquired.

"Yes. Axel told me... Please... Please don't put me back in the prison cell. Xigbar told me- well, it doesn't matter what he said, but please, Xemnas. I'm sorry. Please," I begged.

"Well, then. I suppose..." Xemnas trailed off and remained silent for several agonizing seconds before he gave me one of the fond smiles of his that I was so accustomed to when we were on better terms. "You have passed my test."

"What?" I gasped.

"I need to know I can trust you, Jessica, especially when it comes to telling the truth when you've done something you shouldn't have. I need to know you won't hide things from me, especially when your actions endanger you or the entire Organization. That's why I had Xigbar take you to Radiant Gardens today. I wanted to know that you would be honest with me regardless of whether or not you were supposed to go there. Since you have passed the test, I will allow you to go wherever you like so long as someone in the Organization is willing to take you and it doesn't interfere with any of their missions."

I stood there and stared blankly, unsure of what was happening until it started to sink in. I thought carefully about how to respond, formulating the safest thing to say. "Thank you. I won't take this chance you've given me for granted." I slowly turned to leave.

"Jessica," Xemnas started. I turned back toward him before he continued. "No more lies, no more secrets. Disobedience is one thing, but hiding your disobedience is much worse. My rules are in place for a reason. You'll see that in time."

The old Jessica would have come up with something witty to say, but I had changed in that dungeon. "I'm sure I will, Xemnas. I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you."

Xemnas walked toward me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "That's not the point. The rules are not only there to protect the Organization but to protect you as well. I have your best interests in mind. I hope you understand that."

"Yes," I replied, waiting for him to remove his hand. When he finally did, I briskly walked away, though I tried not to walk too fast for fear that it would anger him.