Chapter 4

Nikki twirled her hands around, sitting at the table in the cafeteria. Not even bothering to think about the tray of food that's been sitting in front of her. She had been doing this since last night after waking up from her DHI form.

There was something about last night that had her thinking. Something about…the computers. How can she go through it in her DHS form? That, she couldn't answer on her own. That was something she had to mention to Wayne alone. She didn't want to share it with the other Keepers yet. Not even David. Not till she can figure out how to use it. Maybeck was the only person that knew about it.

Finn had just picked up his tray with food containing it. He finally glanced up to see Nikki sitting alone at the table. Not even touching her food. This gave him waves of concerns for her. So he decided to move towards that direction.

"Hey, is this seat taken?" Finn asked her with a small smile when Nikki looked up at him.

"Yeah, sure. It's a free country." Nikki nervously laughed, gesturing him to sit down. It was a little awkward that a few months ago, she had only watched Finn and Amanda from a safe distant to keep an eye on him in order to protect him. Now she was sitting right across from him. But at least they were friends, now. So she didn't have to avoid him.

"You alright? You seem quiet." Finn asked as he sat down, putting the tray in front of him. Staring over at her, trying to act calm instead of showing any worries for her. As a leader, his job was to look out for the other keepers. Plus, he had always cared for his friends. Including Nikki.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I was just thinking about last night. That's all." She shrugged her shoulders.

"The Overtakers?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah." She nodded, giving him a short answer.

By this, Finn nodded. "Yeah, it was a little strange about how they showed up. Especially with the pirates and the birds. They didn't hurt you, did they?" He glanced up with a more serious look.

"No. Well, actually one of them did cut my head. But nothing too serious." She confessed. "Though, my mother's questioning me about it since she found blood on my pillow. I had to convince her that maybe I bumped my head on the bedpost last night. At least it worked."

Finn listened as he nodded. This made him feel guilty for not being there to help her and Maybeck when they were attacked.

"Don't worry about it. It's taken care of. I've faced worse than just a cut on the head." She tried to smile to show that she was alright.

Finn showed a smile back before he it disappeared. "They're up to something." The Overtakers. They might be trying to break out Maleficent and the other imprisoned Overtakers out."

"That would make sense." Nikki rested her arms on the table. "Having their minions come after us either to get us out of the way or trying to recapture us again."

"True. Long enough so they can break into the cages in Animal Kingdom." Finn finished, taking a bite out of his food.

"What should we do about it?" She asked.

"We'll gather everyone at the ice cream shop and explain what our next plan is. We can't allow them to break the Overtakers out. Or else they'll be running loose in the Parks. Causing all sorts of trouble. Did you find any clues that Wayne left for us or the Overtakers left behind?" He lifted his head as he asked her.

"Not that I saw. Besides the birds in the Tiki area acting weird before they attacked us. And that Iago was there."

"Iago?" Finn's eyes widen.

"Yeah, he was there watching us. I think he was the one that started the attack on us." She explained. "What about you? Did you and David find anything?"

"Besides the pirates attacking us, nothing much." He shrugged, sipping out of the milk carton.

"Hmm….strange. And we haven't even heard from Wayne in a while." She said as she fidgeted with her fingers.

Finn grew silent at that part. He was about to speak up till he spotted Amanda walking over towards them.

"Hey guys!" She greeted them before sitting down next to Nikki. "What are we discussing about?"

"We were talking about last night with the Overtakers. They attacked us. With the pirates going after me and David." Finn explained before Nikki finished his sentence.

"And Maybeck and I were attacked by the birds in the Tiki Tiki Room led by Iago. The Keepers are meeting at the ice cream shop to discuss what we're going to do next." She explained as she picked up her tray. "I need to head out to finish some homework. I'll catch you both this afternoon." With that, she walked away from the table.

Both Finn and Amanda watched her with concerns on their faces.

"What was that all about?" Amanda turned to Finn for answers.

"I don't know. She's been like that since last night. It's making me worried." He said to her.

"I don't blame you. I would be worried for her too. I remember that look from Jess when she usually hides something or she's gone through something horrible." She frowned as she explained. "Though, I had a feeling that it could be Nikki's mother. Since the situation with the Overtakers a few months ago, her mother's been over protective of her."

"All of our mothers and guardians are like that." Finn shrugged. "I don't think that's it. I think there's something she's hiding. But she doesn't want to tell us."

"Why wouldn't she?" Amanda asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I don't know. Maybe to try to protect us or something." Finn stopped eating by this point. "But, if we're going to figure out what that is, he shouldn't be pushing her to ask what's wrong. The best thing we can do is to keep an eye on her and make sure she's alright. I'll even ask Maybeck if he knows something. He was there that night with her."

Amanda nodded by this idea. "Good. That might be for the best. Just to look out for her to see if she's alright. And figure out what the problem is."

Finn also nodded as his thoughts went for the Overtakers as his main focus. He had to find a way for him and the Keepers to stop them from escaping to protect Disney.

…..

The sun was setting just as Nikki arrived at Wayne's apartment at the Magic Kingdom. She decided not to go in DHS form since she had the Disney pass card to access into the forbidden buildings.

Wayne greeted her at the door, a little surprised to see her there. "Nikki. What a pleasant surprise. Please, come in." He allowed in inside, having her sit down on the sofa. "David's not here at the moment. After the meeting with all of you Keepers, he had to run to do errands for me."

"Actually, I'm not here to see David. I'm here to see you." Nikki spoke up. Watching Wayne walking back into the living room with a tray of tea and small cakes he picked up from the bakery in Frontierland.

"Couldn't you be able to do that in the chat room on the Kingdom Keepers site?" Wayne asked calmly as he poured her a cup of tea to hand to her. "You should really try these chocolates. The bakery makes the best chocolates."

Nikki took a bite of a chocolate that he offered to her, smiling. "Mmm! This is really good." She said before putting the chocolate on a plate. "Well, what I need to tell you, I can't do it on the chat room. It's too….important." She lowered her voice a bit, glancing around her.

"I see." Wayne nodded as he took a sip put of his tea. "What is it?"

Nikki was silent for a moment. Taking a deep breath before continuing to speak. "What there something about our DHI forms that you haven't told us about yet? Like any abilities that we can do with it?"

"Explain, my dear." Wayne calmly gestured to her.

"Like…" She paused. "Can DHIs enter the computer? Like Tron in the video games?"

Wayne was silent. So long to the point where Nikki thought she said something wrong. Making her glanced downwards.

"It's likely." By his words, she lifted her head quickly.

"Thirty years ago, we had our own group test this out." He began to explain.

"Group? What group?" She raised her eyebrows.

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is that it's been done. And it's never been tested again." Wayne stood up and sat down next to Nikki. A serious look grew upon his face. "Nikki, I must warn you now. Do not test this method out. Keep your DHI away from the computers unless you're completely solid."

"Why?" She asked with confusion.

"It's extremely dangerous. I can't explain it to you, now. But please, takes my advice and do not do this. Do you understand?" This time, Wayne placed a hand onto her shoulder. Looking into her eyes with a sad glance.

"I understand, sir." Nikki responded with a frown, having two of her fingers crossed behind her back.