* = Author's Note – please see bottom of chapter for explanation.

=13=

"Xemnas, do you not think that this girl's power could become too overbearing? Surely you must be thinking in the best interest of the Organization."

The words of Xaldin traveled across the empty, white room, reaching the ever-listening ears of the Organization's leader. His gloved finger tapped lightly upon his chin as he maintained his deep thought; he was indeed struggling to determine whether or not this Nobody would become detrimental to the Organization's cause, or if she could possibly mean the downfall of all that he had created should she turn on them. As much as he disliked admitting such a thing, her power was far greater than his- the Nether was a force that could obliterate all that opposed, should she grow strong enough to control each aspect of the element.

"I understand your concern, Xaldin. However, I believe it would be within our best interest that she stays within our ranks for the time being. Zexion is keeping her in line thus far, and with each passing day, she learns how to control her power further and further."

A gruff huff left the lips of the Lancer, his arms folding across his chest as he leaned back in his chair. As much as he trusted his leader, there were far too many variables that would not work in their favor if anything went wrong with this girl.

"C'mon, Xaldin- lighten up! We got a girl who can harness the very power of life and death on our side!"

Xigbar chimed in his rather unwelcomed two cents, earning a cold glare from the Lancer. The Freeshooter took no notice at this, and was about to further his words, until he noticed a dark portal appear upon one of the previously-empty chairs in the room.

"That, my under-educated friend, is where you are wrong."

All eyes fell upon the blonde scientist that now housed his chair, and he moved a few strands of his hair out of the way before beginning to speak.

"She does not control the forces of life, Xigbar. She controls only the forces of death and destruction. For example- the reason that she can control Heartless is because Heartless are defined as deceased beings. She controls their energy, what little remains of it, and bids them to do her dirty work. She cannot control Nobodies, since Nobodies lie upon the horizon of both life and death. They do not exist; therefore, she cannot control them."

These words took the interest of Xemnas, who now had a new perspective on whether or not she could be useful to the Organization.

"Vexen, are you claiming that she cannot use her powers on us Nobodies?"

"I never said that, my Lord."

The room was quiet for a minute, before Vexen again broke the silence.

"I simply stated that she cannot control Nobodies. Meaning, she will never be able to form Nobodies of her own free will like we are able to. However, her powers will still be able to work upon us. Another example- take Xigbar, for instance. He is a healthy, able-bodied Nobody. Should he get on (Name)'s bad side, she could bestow upon him any number of afflictions… we have yet to see this power wielded by her, but should she develop such control over it, I would avoid upsetting her."

This made Xaldin give a very rare chuckle, and he gave a slight roll of his eyes.

"Upsetting her… you speak as though she is capable of becoming upset, Vexen. She is a Nobody… just like the rest of us. She is incapable of feeling anything."

Xigbar shot Xemnas a quick glance, something that no one else within the room noticed but the leader himself, and he leaned back within his chair as his hands came to rest upon his lap.

"You are all dismissed. Xigbar, stay."

Xemnas waited until both Xaldin and Vexen had left the meeting room, and then gave a heavy sigh.

"Xigbar- you are my most trusted member within the Organization thus far. What are your thoughts on (Name) and her abilities?"

"Eh, if I'm being honest with ya, I don't really have an opinion on it. As long as she doesn't start messin' things up on our end, I think she'll be a fine addition to our Organization. Besides, she's got Zexion looking after her."

Xemnas folded his fingers into the palm of his hand, resting his cheek upon his newly-formed fist as he closed his eyes. This girl was proving to be quite the predicament, and he still wasn't completely sure what to do about it.

"I do have to wonder, though… if Zexion and (Name) keep being partners, will their hearts return* faster?"

Xemnas opened his eyes once again, turning his full attention to the Freeshooter.

"What do you mean?"

"I think you know exactly what I mean, Xemnas. You and I are the only two who know that Nobodies can have their hearts return over time. If Zexion should happen to… I dunno… fall for his partner…"

"No such thing will happen. As far as the rest of the members know, a Nobody is forever without a heart. Why do you think they go about pretending to have emotion?"

"Pretending? As if, Xemnas. *Our hearts left a permanent imprint on us, and those imprints represent our 'emotions.' Why do you think Vexen and Zexion get into so many arguments all the time? Xaldin is the only one I could really call 'emotionless' and mean it. Our laughter is real, and so is our curiosity and anger. And, it's only a matter of time before the other members happen to realize this… especially Zexion or Vexen. You of all people should know these things, Xemnas… we are just as much human as real humans. We have every instinct, every emotion, every natural urge… yet we feel like they don't exist simply because we know we're lacking hearts."

As much as Xemnas wished that Xigbar was spewing nothing more than nonsense, he knew that he was right. Human Nobodies did indeed lack hearts, but everything that the heart held still remained within them. And, if Zexion did happen to begin falling for his partner, that would become detrimental to Xemnas' overall plan. Xemnas leaned back in his chair, another heavy sigh leaving his lips.

"Xigbar- return to Twilight Town and see if any new Nobodies have come into existence there. I need time to think."

"You got it, boss."

=13=

"You're doing very well, (Name). The past few weeks have allowed you to hone your skill further, and that is something that you've desperately needed. But, it seems that you can control your power better than ever now, and that's a good sign."

You looked over at your mentor, a few soft pants leaving your lips as you did so. Using your ability for too long made you rather tired, but you were obtaining better stamina with each passing day. Alongside better stamina, you could now hone in on targets you wished to use your abilities on instead of the entire surrounding area, and that was something that Zexion stated would be extremely helpful in the field once you were strong enough to begin working fully for the Organization.

"Come over to the docks, (Name). As much as you have been working to better attune yourself to your power, there comes much need for rest and relaxation, as well. I believe you've trained enough for today."

Your (color) eyes followed him as he walked across the sand to the wooden dock, and then hoisted himself up onto it. You followed his lead, sitting down beside him at the very end of the dock to overlook the ocean. All was quiet for a while as the two of you listened to the waves and the sounds around the island, and then Zexion cleared his throat as you felt something brush against your shoulder.

"Hm?"

You turned to look at him, and he was holding out a small vial for you to take. You took it without hesitation, and took the cork out from the top.

"It's a revitalization potion. I carry several of them with me at all times in case I happen to grow weary outside the castle. I assure you that the quality is nothing short of good- I made them myself."

You nodded your head, bringing the vial to your lips and allowing the liquid to drip into your mouth. He wasn't wrong in what he said- it tasted wonderful. However, you couldn't quite tell exactly what the flavor was. After all, you hadn't been exposed to much food since your arrival at the castle three weeks ago.

"Zexion, what is it supposed to taste like?"

"Ah, yes. I cannot stand bitter potions, so I took the flavor from something in Twilight Town that several of the other members happen to enjoy quite a bit. I have yet to try the real thing for myself, but it's something called 'Sea Salt Ice Cream.' Xigbar brought one back to the castle one day and I decided, since everyone liked it so much, that I would use the flavoring in my potions. I happened to like the taste of it, so I kept using it. Call me an imbecile for not seeing if I liked the flavor beforehand, but I needed something other than bitterness in my potions."

You looked down at the now empty vial in your hand, and then gave a soft sigh. You could feel your strength returning, and you placed the vial between the two of you on the docks.

"Well, maybe you and I could try it someday, right? I mean, after all, all we have to do is go to Twilight Town to get the real thing. You said so yourself!"

"Perhaps. How different can it be from my potions, though?"

You thought for a moment, and then gave a quiet hum in response to him. He had a point- if the flavor had originally come from the ice cream itself, how different could it be? You looked down at the water beneath you, and then felt your lips turn up slightly. As if your body was now moving on auto-pilot, you took off your boots, and allowed yourself to slip off the docks and into the water- it was cold to your skin, but you quickly got used to it.

"(Name), what on earth are you doing?"

You didn't care about your coat, since you allowed yourself to slip further underneath the enticing water. It was still cold, but again, your body got used to it fairly quickly. Before you managed to answer Zexion, all but your head was now under the water.

"I honestly don't know… but you should join me. The water feels really good, Zexion. I thought about just putting my feet in, but I guess my mind had other plans."

"(Name), I really don't think that's very beneficial to-"

"Oh come on, Zexion. You said yourself that we need to relax sometimes… so relax."

Zexion sighed in defeat. He knew that you were right, and he did say that they needed relaxation at some points as well. Since he knew that their training was done for the day, he supposed it wouldn't hurt to try the water for a little while. He took off his boots, just as you had, and then allowed himself into the water. He hissed slightly at how cold it initially was, but found that it was easier for his skin to accept the further out he went.

"Congratulations, (Name). You've successfully made me throw aside all logical reasoning in not taking off my coat before getting in the water."

Although you knew that you lacked emotion, as Zexion and many others had told you countless times over the past few weeks, you couldn't help the laugh that passed from your lips. You knew not where it erupted from, but all you knew was that you had to laugh. This caught Zexion's attention, and he hummed quietly as he moved his now partially-wet hair out of his face for once.

"Zexion… do you really think that we don't have emotion?"

This question caught the Schemer off guard, and he thought for a moment before giving a quiet sigh.

"How could we, (Name)? We lack hearts, and hearts are where emotions stem from. We know so little about the heart, but we do know that's where emotions come from."

"I have to disagree, Zexion. How could I laugh like I just did, or how could we move around without acting like mindless zombies if we were truly without emotion? You and Vexen tend to get into arguments too, which proves my point a bit further."

Zexion stayed quiet for a minute, and then gave a slow shake of his head. He knew that everything she was saying was true, and he would have to confide his confusion with Vexen later.

"I'm not sure, (Name). But, I do know one thing. Your vocabulary is ever improving, and I must take some partial credit for that."

The Schemer felt the corners of his lips turn up into a very slight smile, and he cleared his throat before his features returned to their normal solemn state. Now he was smiling? It wasn't like he *willed himself to do it like he had many times previously; this one was a smile that erupted without him thinking to do so.

"Come, (Name). We need to get back to the castle."

You forced yourself to purse your lips into what had been described as a 'pout', and Zexion rolled his eyes in response to this. However, following his words, you and the Schemer brought yourselves back to the docks in order to grab your shoes. Upon exiting the water, your coats dripped in a seemingly never-ending rain, which Zexion sighed at.

"Wring your coat out a bit, (Name). We don't want to track water all over the castle. That would be a rather intimidating mess to have to clean up."

"Yes, Zexion…"

=13=

Upon returning to the castle, you and Zexion happened to return to the gathering room which was occupied by all members except Xaldin. All eyes fell upon the two of you, and Vexen cocked his eyebrow slightly.

"I see that you and (Name) had quite the time training today, Zexion. Apparently, training is now equivalent to that of swimming, yes?"

Zexion furrowed his brows, placing his hand on your shoulder before nudging you towards the hall that led to your room. You obeyed his silent action, beginning to walk down the corridor with him by your side. Vexen scoffed at this, taking off down the hallway towards his lab where he could find at least some form of peace. Once everyone else, save Xemnas and Xigbar, had left the gathering area, Xigbar gave a small smirk and glanced up at his silver-haired leader.

"Need I state my worries again, my Lord?"

=13=

Author's Note (1): It has been canonically stated that Human Nobodies, like Xemnas and the Organization, can regain their hearts over time.

Author's Note (2): I have a head-canon that states that the reason Nobodies "feel" is because they have an imprint left from when they did have hearts. This imprint acts almost like an emotional trigger, which activates whenever something happens that would have triggered that emotion when they still had hearts. (Granted, in real life, emotions are produced by varying parts of the brain; trying my best to stick to Kingdom Hearts logic here).

Author's Note (3): Nobodies do have the ability to feel- however they feel like they are still empty due to not having a heart. This causes uncertainty, thus leading them to believe they have no 'real' emotions. In correspondence to my previously mentioned head-canon, aside from Xemnas and Xigbar, the other members believe they have to pretend to have emotions. Thus, when Zexion feels himself smiling, it makes him confused as he did not will himself to smile.

Author's Note (4): If you wish to read more about the emotional side of Human Nobodies, please examine the "Organization XIII" portion of the Kingdom Hearts Wikipedia.