Chapter 5: What's Homework? (double-ux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=SSJBoeblmlg)

Memo: I wish I didn't know what homework was... Sora is a lucky boy. Nexus, however, didn't get so lucky. *sigh* Oh well. At least I know how many centimeters are in an inch, ne, Gimpy? Haha! I love this chapter because of the dialogue. You'll see why soon. Okay, go ahead and read!

*~*~*

Nexus stood before Sora's capsule, wide-eyed. Suddenly she heard footsteps, so she hid out of sight. To her amazement, Donald and Goofy walked in, yawning and stretching.

"Who's there?" Sora mumbled, eyes still closed.

"Sora!" Donald shouted.

"Sora, wake up!" Goofy added.

Sora's eyes opened and his "bubble" opened up. He stretched out. Nexus cringed as Donald and Goofy laughed. Clothes that small looked almost painful. Sora jumped out of the capsule and grabbed his friends in his arms.

"Donald, Goofy!" he exclaimed. They all laughed and hopped in a circle. Nexus smirked. What a bunch of smurfs.

"That was some nap!" Jiminy Cricket said, climbing up onto Sora's shoulders. He stretched and yawned, then hopped down to the floor.

"You mean, we were asleep?" Sora asked, looking confused.

"I guess we musta been, or I don't think we'd be so drowsy."

"When do ya think we went to sleep?" Goofy asked.

"Uhh..." Donald said, tapping his foot.

"Let's see...we defeated Ansem," Sora began, an edge of cockiness in his voice.

"Yep," Goofy said.

"...Restored peace to the world...found Kairi... Oh yeah, and then we went to look for Riku. I think that's right so far."

"Then what?" Donald asked.

"What does your journal say, Jiminy?" Goofy added.

" Gee, there's only one sentence... 'Thank Naminé.' Hmm... I wonder who that is?" Jiminy said, reading out of his little book. Nexus was still hiding, waiting for the opportune moment to step in and introduce herself.

Sora, Goofy, and Donald looked at each other and shook their heads in confusion.

"Some journal that is," Donald said. Jiminy gave him a steamed look.

"Well, what do ya say we find out where we are!" Jiminy suggested. This was it; now or never.

Nexus' PoV

"You're in Twilight Town," I said, stepping out into the clearing.

"AH!" everyone screamed. I smirked. Was I really that scary-looking? Sweet.

"Wh-who are you?" Sora asked. I grinned.

"The name's Nexus...so...you really don't remember, huh, Sora?"

"Remember what? And how do you know my name?!"

"Yeah!" Donald shouted.

"Oh, come on, seriously? You don't remember me? Or Axel? Or Naminé? Or Castle Oblivion?" Sora looked even more confused as I went on. "For real? Wow. Naminé knows her stuff."

"So you know who this Naminé person is?" Goofy asked.

"Yup. Can I tell you? Nope. Sorry. Not my choice. Neither is this." I stepped toward Sora and his companions and held out my hand. "I'm gonna come with you guys."

"No you aren't!" Donald shouted.

"Wow, okay, first, you shout a lot. Second, I have to. Orders, man, orders. I always follow orders sometimes."

Sora observed me, crossing his arms.

"Why do you seem familiar?" he asked me. I laughed.

"I don't know. Ask your sleeping memories," I replied sarcastically. Sora looked confused again. I rolled my eyes.

"Who are you, anyway?" Donald said.

"I think I already said, my name is Nexus. Can I add to that? I think I will. I'm gonna help you guys out. You all are my friends. Plus, it's my orders. You're going to need my help, whether you need it or not."

"Oh yeah?" Sora said.

"Oh yeah, little boy!" I then gasped. "Wait, say something!"

"Uhhh, what now?"

"OH MY GOSH!! Your voice is mature!! NO WAY! It seems like just yesterday that you were short and had a castrato voice." I faked sobbed.

"You're really weird," Sora said.

"Thank you! I try." Goofy laughed, and I smirked. "Look, let's get going."

"You're not coming!" Donald quacked. I frowned.

"Yes I am. Aren't I, Sora?"

"Uhhh..."

"Sora?"

"..."

"SORA!"

"Well, I guess so. I mean, if you have orders to...and you seem nice...enough."

"Thank you, Sora!" I shouted, giving him a quick hug. "C'mon, let's get out of here! I've been waiting a year for you to wake up!"

"Really? We were asleep for a year?" Goofy asked.

"Mmhmm! I've been watching over you three-okay, four-ever since then. Apparently I'm your guardian or something like that."

"Who said that?"

"No one but me. But...that's kind of how Axel made it sound."

"Axel? Who's that?" Sora asked.

"A friend of mine. He's your friend, too."

"Uhh, I've never heard of him."

"I know. Just go with the flow. And forget about him. It'll make your life easier." Sora nodded, tapping his head.

"How old are you, anyway?" Donald asked.

"It's impolite to ask a lady her age...oh no, that's weight. Well, I'm twenty."

"Huh?! You're twenty?" Sora gasped.

"Yeah, I know. I look younger, don't I?" I crossed my arms. "Can't help it I'm short." Frowning, I looked at Sora. "Oh, you're the same height as me now. NO!" I laughed to myself. "They grow up so fast."

"So are you some sort of stalker?"

"No, actually. I'm not. I'd rather be elsewhere. But my friend/coworker told me to look after you. So I am."

"What can you do to help, though?" Goofy asked.

"This."

I summoned my keyblade, whirled it around, then released it.

"I can do that, too!" Sora shouted, summoning his keyblade.

"I know. But can you do this?"

I pulled out my gun and swiftly shot the zipper off of Donald's hat.

"HEY!"

"Neat, huh? I wuv my gunny." I giggled and held my gun close. "My precious. Mine. Not yours."

"Okay...you're...weird."

"Like I said, I try. Well, let's get out of here! Come on! I've been here for a year and it's suckin' it up so let's GOOOOOO!"

I ran out toward the entrance to the mansion. Sora and his friends followed me.

"Can you fight?" Sora asked.

"How could I not?" I replied, giggling.

"Then fight me. Let's see if you really can keep up." Sora readied his keyblade and assumed a fighting stance. I laughed out loud, readying my own keyblade.

"Ready when you are, kid," I said, smirking. What a showoff.

Sora lunged and hit his keyblade against mine.

"GO SORA!" I heard Donald shout. Rolling my eyes, I jumped back. We really started to get into it then. He was fighting for pride, and I was fighting for fun, and because he told me to. And maybe a little for pride.

"Hah!" Sora shouted, knocking my keyblade away and into his hand. I smirked as he turned around in a circle and ended up looking straight down the barrel of my gun.

"I win," I said, grinning. Sora dropped not one keyblade, but both. I laughed a little. "Still think I'm not worth taking along?"

Sora shook his head quickly. Lowering my gun, I nodded once.

"Happy to join you. Let's get going."

*~*~* + Fast Forward through walking around.

Nexus, Sora, Donald, and Goofy came upon a small entrance in a back alley. Sora stopped for a moment, crossing his arms in thought.

"You know, I think I've been to this town," he said.

"You have," Nexus replied.

"But I don't really remember. It just seems familiar, is all."

Nexus said nothing, instead she sighed and shook her head.

"Let's just go inside," Goofy suggested, putting a hand on Nexus' shoulder. She nodded, grateful that at least Goofy was accepting her. Unlike Donald, who was staring at her suspiciously from time to time. Every time she'd catch him, she shout, "Take a picture; it'll last longer!"

Upon entering the small room, the four companions saw three teenage kids lying around. They looked bored.

"What do you want?!" the blonde guy shouted.

"Uh, nothing," Sora replied quickly. He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Just wondering what was back here."

"Now you know. This is our spot."

"Umm..." the chubby guy said.

"What?" Sora responded.

"You're...new around here, right? I'm Pence," Pence said, standing up.

"Hayner. Nice to meet you, but we got stuff to do, so catch ya later," Hayner said, running out of the room.

"What a jerk," Nexus whispered to herself.

"My name's Olette," the girl said, standing as well. She and Pence seemed much more pleasant than Hayner. "Hey, did you finish up the summer homework, yet? Independent studies are the worst, huh?"

"Homework?" Sora asked. He looked at Donald and Goofy, who shrugged. Nexus slapped her forehead in embarrassment.

"Hey, what're your names?" Pence asked.

"Oh, sorry," Goofy said, smiling. "We're Sora, Donald, Nexus, and Goofy."

"Hey there," Sora said, grinning.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy, we just met someone who was looking for you," Olette announced. "But he didn't mention you, Nexus."

"Not a problem," Nexus said, saluting with her right index finger.

"He sure seemed in a hurry," Pence added. "He had a black coat on so I couldn't see his face, but he had these big round ears." Pence showed the group what he was talking about; Olette nodded.

"The King!" Donald exclaimed.

"Where'd you see him?" Sora asked.

"At the station."

"The station! Thanks!"

"Well, we'd better get back to that assignment," Olette said.

"Later," Pence said. He and Olette left, leaving the group to themselves in the small room.

"Oh boy! The King's trying to find us!" Donald shouted, jumping a little at the good news.

"Yeah, let's get to the station!" Sora added, running out of the room.

"Nexus, do you know who our king is?" Goofy asked as they ran through the town.

"I do, actually," she replied, smiling a little. "I haven't seen him since I was a little girl, though. I wonder if..."

"If...?" Sora said.

"If he'll remember me." Nexus was actually wondering if King Mickey even knew about her. He had met Sune at the time, not Nexus. Did he and DiZ discuss her condition at all?

"Hey you, where'd you come from?" shouted an unfamiliar voice.

The group turned to see three teenage kids again. One was big and buff, but he looked stupid. There was a girl with short, silver hair. She looked demonic. The third was assumed to be the one who shouted, because he crossed his toned arms, waiting for an answer.

"Uhh..." Sora responded, thinking of what he should say.

"You here to pick a fight with us or something?" he said angrily.

"Fight? We're not here to fight," Sora said, shaking his head.

"We don't even know who you people are," Nexus added, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, you big palooka!" Donald shouted, jumping up and down.

"Okay, smartalecks... Time to teach you how to behave in my town. Bring it!" The young man and his friends assumed defensive stances. When Sora and Donald did the same, Nexus huffed an audible sigh.

"What are your problems? Goooosh, you are SO full of it!" she shouted at the teen. "One, this is NOT your town. It's Twilight Town. And unless your name is Twilight, Town, or both, then it's not your freaking town. Two, who the heck ARE YOU?!"

When nobody responded, she sighed and pulled out her gun.

"One moment!"

Everyone looked over to see a short, very stout man headed toward them.

"If you're gonna fight, why not make it a proper Struggle?" the man suggested. Nexus' ears perked up. She remembered that sign from before, when she was looking for Axel.

Axel...

As the conversation between Sora, the man, and the group of mini-thugs carried on, Nexus' mind wandered to him.

She wondered what he could possibly be thinking, still trying to go after Roxas. But, she considered, when you want to help someone you really care about, you don't think. If you think, you must not truly value them.

That's what had happened with this whole thing. If Nexus had thought about it, and not agreed, where would she be? At least now Axel knew where to go to find her if he so needed.

"...exus? Nexus?"

Nexus looked over at Sora, who was shaking her shoulder.

"Huh?"

"You okay?" he asked.

"Um, yeah."

"You looked like you were in a trance."

"It's nothing. C'mon, enough distractions, let's go find your king already!" she shouted, running off.

Fast Forward to Central Station

Nexus' PoV

We were right in front of Central Station when suddenly white creatures sprung up from darkness. I gasped a little. I had remembered Naminé telling me about these things. They were Nobodies, but in simpler, weaker forms.

"We've gotta fight!" Sora shouted, summoning his keyblade. I nodded, pulling out my gun. The four of us split up, taking out the Nobodies as best as we could. But there were so many. Where were they all coming from?!

"...!" I turned to see a Nobody jump on me. "GET OFFFFFF!" Running around, I finally managed to get the thing off of me and shoot it. "MORE?!" More definitely came. Exhausted, the four of us all collapsed in a little circle with our backs to each other. A Nobody made a move toward Sora, and he held up his keyblade weakly.

Suddenly a blur of black, silver, and gold filled our eyes. It was the king. I watched him take out the Nobodies as if it were as simple as saying "how-do-you-do." And so quickly, too! Sora got up on his knees, watching in total amazement, but Donald and Goofy shoved him down.

"Your Majesty?" Donald asked, looking overjoyed.

"Shh!" The King put a finger to his lips. He was dressed like an Organization member, though not too convincing with the giant ears and all. "You gotta board the train and leave town! The train knows the way." He then held out a brightly designed munny pouch. "Here."

Sora, obviously dumbfounded, took the munny pouch without question. The King wasted no time in making his way to the other side of the town.

"Your Majesty..." Donald repeated.

"The King... Was that really him?" Sora asked, still looking dazed.

"Snap out of it, kid," I said, giving him a good smack on the back of the head.

"It coulda been... Yep, I know it was!" Goofy exclaimed, looking just plain joyous.

"Now we know he's okay!" Donald added, smiling brightly...for a duck.

"..." Sora seemed to be contemplating something. "The King was locked in the realm of darkness, right?" he finally asked.

"Uh-huh," Goofy replied.

"But we just saw him..."

"Yep," Donald replied.

"And if the King is here, that means Riku's here!"

I felt myself frown. I looked away quickly; I didn't want them to know I knew about...him.

"He's gotta be!" Donald said.

"Well, I'm gonna go look for Riku," Sora said. "Then he and I can go back to the islands together. Kairi's there waiting for us! What are you two gonna do?" He looked to Donald and Goofy.

"Gawrsh, Sora," Goofy said, looking a little upset. "Do ya have to ask?" He and Donald looked at Sora with really funny expressions on their faces.

Sora started laughing.

"Hey! What's so funny?" Donald demanded.

"Your face!" Sora exclaimed, doing the typical point-and-laugh.

Donald and Goofy looked at each other and laughed along with Sora. I couldn't help but join them. It was pretty hilarious, after all.

"What about you, Nexus?" Sora asked.

"I...don't really know. It depends on what happens to..." My voice trailed off. I felt really stupid all of a sudden, sitting there, blushing and what not. I quickly jumped to my feet, looking at the ground.

"Who?" Donald said.

"C'mon, is it someone you liiiiiiike?" Sora asked. I looked up and glared at him. "Hah, just kidding. What do ya say, guys? Let's stick together for one more journey."

We all nodded.

"All for one and one for all is the rule, Nexus," Goofy said. I tapped my head once.

"Got it! Let's do it!"

"To...where again?" Sora asked, placing his hands behind his head.

"We hafta board the train!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Oh yeah."

"Way to go!" I said, ruffling Sora's hair.

"Ow, quit." Donald sighed, looking frustrated with us.

"C'mon!" Sora shouted, running into the station. It was beautiful in there, too. Very nostalgic.

"Wait up!"

We turned around to see Hayner, Pence, and Olette running towards us.

"Hey, Sora," Hayner said.

"What?" Sora replied, looking a little confused.

"Nothing, but..."

"We came to see you off," Pence explained for his friend. "It just seemed like something we oughta do."

"Oh...really? Thanks!" I nodded in agreement. It was pretty nice of them.

Suddenly we heard a ringing sound.

"You should hurry and get your tickets," Olette said.

"Right," Sora said, nodding. He took out the munny pouch the King gave him. I noticed a funny look on Olette's face.

"What is it?" I asked, concerned.

To my surprise, Olette pulled out the exact same munny pouch. That's when it hit me. Roxas's Twilight Town...these were his friends, and the pouch we had was from that town! But how did the King get it?

"They're the same," Goofy said.

"Yeah," Olette said, her voice wavering.

Sora looked at both pouches, then shrugged it off. "Three tickets please!"