Xemnas's Point of View

I took things much too far. I knew that as soon as Jessica vomited. I had assumed she would give up long before it got to that point. I greatly underestimated her will. The only thought I could process was to ask myself, 'What have I done?' Jessica set the bottle on her bedside table and looked up at me, scared and weak. I felt just as helpless. Vexen would have known what to do, but Vexen was gone. I cast a healing spell, but I knew whatever internal damage I had caused wouldn't disappear. She somehow needed to drink the potion. I summoned a Dusk and ordered it to clean up the mess before stepping around it to get to Jessica. "Please don't force me to drink it. I didn't mean to. I'll try again," Jessica whimpered, reaching once more for the bottle.

I took it before she had the chance and stared at its contents before throwing it at the wall in a fit of rage. The bottle shattered, and its contents stained the wall. "Clean that up next," I said to the Dusk, who was finishing up with the first mess. I turned my attention back to Jessica, who was shaking worse than I had ever seen her before. Whether it was from fear or pain, I wasn't sure.

"I want my dad," Jessica shuddered.

I placed my arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "I know you do," I murmured. Jessica didn't resist or argue, so I assumed she was alright with the physical contact at that moment. I pulled another hi-potion out of my coat once the Dusk finished up. "Do you think you can keep it down?" Jessica shook her head. Fear overcame me as I realized that if she could not drink it, she would eventually die. An idea formed in my head. "Wait here." I gave Jessica one last gentle squeeze before heading back to my room. Once there, I went to my small cabinet and took out an elixir. I hesitated. If Jessica couldn't drink it, I would have wasted a rare and valuable asset. My hesitation didn't last long, as it was a chance I was more than willing to take. When I returned to Jessica's room, I found Saix scolding Jessica as she cried. I immediately rushed to Jessica's side and turned to Saix. "Don't you dare berate her and more than you have! Tell Number VIII that he is going without her today."

"Yes, sir," Saix complied. He walked away.

I wiped the tears off Jessica's face. If she had made any sound of protest or discomfort, I would have pulled away immediately, but she didn't. "I brought you something," I mentioned. I showed her the elixir.

"I don't think I can drink it. Those elixirs my father gave me tasted terrible. If I can't take a potion, I don't think I can manage an elixir," Jessica shuddered.

"That was because he mixed it with some other things to help you heal. An elixir by itself should taste much better to you. Drink it slowly if you can," I advised.

She took a sip and seemed fine. She waited before taking another sip. "Xemnas, what now?" She muttered.

"Now, you drink the rest gradually when you can," I stated.

"I don't mean that. What... What now with us?" She asked.

"That's entirely up to you. You can continue to resist me at every turn, which is bound to have us repeating the same mistakes, or we can move on from this," I replied. I was bluffing, of course. I knew I would never be able to hurt her again after that. Not to that extent.

She took another sip before continuing. "I don't want to do this again. I think I'm going to give in for now. I don't have the energy to fight anymore. Congratulations. You win."

I nearly cried again, but I refused to allow myself that privilege. Jessica did not need to know that our hearts were slowly regenerating. That was something that only I knew, and it was going to stay that way until Kingdom Hearts was complete so that I could reveal the Organization's true purpose. "I would say that neither of us won. I didn't want it to come to this."

"How much of this is real? When you say things like that, do you mean it? Or am I just another pawn to you? It doesn't make any difference to me. I never wanted to leave regardless. This place has too many memories," Jessica sighed.

"I may have lied about how much Terra is involved in myself, but it's never exaggerated or a lie when I tell you anything about how much I care about you. I know it doesn't feel that way to you. Especially now that you're hurt this badly. I didn't think you would resist for this long," I explained. She took another sip and shot me a look with a raised eyebrow. "I know. You're stubborn. She was stubborn, too."

"Serenity?" Jessica questioned.

Even the mention of her name made me smile. "Yes."

"I hate being compared to her. We're the same person, but you talking to me like I'm her is strange. I can't even remember you. Should I?" Jessica wondered.

"I'm sure you will, someday. All your memories of me were locked away when you were Serenity," I explained.

She took another sip before speaking to me again. "I'm tired."

"Drink a quarter of the bottle. Then you may rest and finish it later," I urged. She tried drinking a larger quantity of the elixir but then ended up coughing. I was worried it might come up again, but it didn't. "Why did you do that?"

"I'm really tired. I want to sleep," Jessica said in a weak voice.

"Just try to drink a little more for me," I coaxed.

She slowly lifted the bottle back up to her lips and took another sip. Her eyes began to flutter. I knew I had to be satisfied with that. I took the rest of the elixir from her. "Alright. You may sleep." She immediately lay back down on her bed and was asleep within seconds. I didn't dare leave the room. I wanted to ensure she would make it through her nap, so I stayed by her side the entire time she was asleep.