Chapter 14: Miss Understood (doubleux3 . youtube . com/watch?v=BuZFy_J_Xdg)

Memo: My second favorite Ayumi Hamasaki album woot woot! :D (Next Level and Guilty are a tie for first. :D) So, we're continuing on, almost halfway there!

Nexus' PoV

I have no idea how long I was asleep, but I was out long enough to miss the entirety of the next world. According to Sora, though, they had turned into lions, and that didn't sound all that appealing, so I have no regrets.

Anyway, I truly did feel better the second time around. Although, I had to wonder if my joke about the drugged ice cream was true... I digress.

So as I prepared to accompany my companions to the next world, Sora didn't protest.

"Looky there!" Chip, our cheery chipmunk friend, shouted. "Twilight Town!"

"Yep, I can see it!" Dale agreed, pointing at the screen where the world now back again. "It's back again!"

"Then that's where we should go!" Sora exclaimed cheerfully. "I was getting worried that the world wouldn't come back..." He sighed, relieved.

"Then what are we waiting for?" I asked, smiling. "Fly us out there!"

.........

"Things look normal, so I wonder why this place disappeared?" I said, looking around the tram commons. People were still hanging out, buying ice cream. Ice cream...ah!

This doesn't make sense, I thought. I was just here with Demyx and the others. Why couldn't these three go, too?

"-uh!!" Sora was shouting in my ear when I snapped out of it. I smacked him in the face. "Good, you're back. Let's get going!"

But before we could discuss what to do next, a little creature came waddling toward us quickly, screaming.

"H-Help! The sandlot! It's Seifer!" it gasped, toddling past us. "Somebody please help us!"

"Sounds like we've got trouble!" Sora murmured.

Sora and I looked at each other, then Donald and Goofy. Our agenda had been determined.

*~*~*

Upon arriving at the Sandlot, the party saw the three teens they met last time--the mean ones--lying on the ground, surrounded by dusks. Their leader, the muscular one with a hat, tried to get up and fight. Sora ran to him, keyblade in hand.

"We'll take it from here!" he assured him.

And so they did. The four easily destroyed the Dusks, but there were also bigger, new Nobodies that wielded large weapons and attacked relentlessly.

"I think magic is the easy way out," Sora said to Donald, and so the mage duck got right to work. Sora was right for once, and the Nobodies were vanquished with the rest.

The silence was quickly interrupted by someone clapping. The four whipped their heads around.

"Impressive," a black-cloaked man said, the clapping culprit.

"..." Nexus narrowed her eyes, glaring at the man. She figured this must be Saix.

"By the way, have you seen a man named Axel?" the man asked. "I expect he's here somewhere."

Nexus lowered her eyes, faintly blushing. He was here? Could she find him, maybe? Her heart thudded hard.

"Like I care," Sora said, readying his keyblade. The man ignored the threat.

"You see, Axel's no longer acting in our best interest," he continued, then gestured to Nexus. "Neither is she--"

The moment Saix started toward her, Sora jumped in front of her, clutching his keyblade tightly. Nexus, shocked, shifted her gaze between Saix and Sora. He was truly protecting her. He was...protecting her?

"Is Axel with the Organization, too?" Goofy asked. Saix backed down, straightening himself up. Sora didn't move.

"Yes," he replied gruffly.

"You havin' a fight?" Donald said.

"Not a very organized Organization..." Sora sneered. Saix pointed at Sora threateningly.

"Don't let your guard down," he warned. "Axel will stop at nothing to turn you into a Heartless."

"Gee, thanks for looking out for us, mister," Sora retorted. "But I'm sure we can take care of ourselves just fine."

"Glad to hear it. Axel aside, it would break our hearts to hear something happened to you."

"Hearts? You don't have any hearts!" Donald quacked.

"True, we don't have hearts," Saix admitted, pulling down back his hood to reveal silver-blue hair and an "x" shaped scar on his face. His identity was confirmed. "But we remember what it was like. That's what makes us special."

"Whaddya mean?" Goofy asked as Saix summoned a portal behind him.

"We know very well how to injure a heart," he replied, preparing to leave. "Sora, you just keep on fighting those Heartless."

"Let's jump in after him!" Sora whispered to Donald, Nexus still standing behind him.

"How come?" Donald hissed back.

"I'm not sure, but maybe he'll lead us to the Organization's world."

"Don't be reckless," Saix said, interrupting them. "Do you want to end up like Riku?"

Sora and Nexus both gasped.

"What!?" Sora breathed. Saix didn't answer, but instead backed out of the sandlot, bowing as he disappeared through the portal. "Hey, wait!" Sora tried to chase him out. "...What did he mean, end up like Riku?" He turned to Nexus, and she immediately looked away, pretending to be thinking hard.

Nexus' PoV

"Hey, how 'bout you get out of my town now?" the leader of the stupid teens said, sneering at us. Sora wasn't paying attention. "You've caused enough trouble."

"Riku..." Sora murmured, bowing his head. Donald glared at the kid, as did I.

"Have it your way!" he squawked, then turning to us. "C'mon, guys."

We turned to leave when suddenly the thug kid shouted at us, "Hold it!"

"Make up your mind!" Donald snapped. We stopped and turned to see the teen holding a fancy trophy out toward us.

"This goes to the strongest guys in Twilight Town," he explained, then tried to give it to us. Sora, snapping out of his short-lived depression, pointed to himself in shock. Then he smiled, shaking his head.

"Thanks, but...we don't really need it," he insisted.

The kid didn't care what we thought, apparently, because he shoved the trophy into Goofy's arms and walked off with his band of thugs.

"Whoa!" Goofy cried, almost dropping it. The kid smirked at us before disappearing from our sight.

"Well...it's about time we got recognized for something," I said quietly, mirroring the smirk.

"Oh! Sora!"

We looked around to see a familiar face running toward us.

"Um...Pence, right?" Sora asked, putting a hand to his chin in thought. Pence ignored him.

"Do you know a girl named Kairi?" he inquired.

"K...Kairi!?" Sora stammered, nearly jumping out of his skin in joy. "I sure do!"

"Then you better come to the station!"

Sora pumped his fist a little in success.

"Hey, at least one of your friends is okay!" I said as we followed Pence to Central Station. He nodded, grinning broadly.

He has no idea how lucky he is, I thought, sighing quietly.

"He-ey!" Hayner shouted to us when we got to the entrance. He and Olette came jogging over.

"Hey, so how do you guys know Kairi?" Sora asked.

But the kids didn't answer; instead the blonde and the girl exchanged sad looks. Sora's smile faded.

"Look, about Kairi..." Hayner started.

"She was kidnapped!" Olette exclaimed. We jumped.

"WHAT?!" Sora cried.

"It's true," Pence agreed. "She and this dog came flying through a hole in the wall while we were hangin' in the Usual Spot. So we talked to her and found out who she was. Turns out she was looking for you."

"We told her if she stayed here, you were bound to come back, just like you did," Hayner continued as Sora began to frown. "But just when that happened, this guy came through another hole in the wall and dragged her away."

"We tried to fight him off, but we were no match for him," Pence admitted, and Olette nodded.

"What did this guy look like?" Sora asked.

"He was really tall, kinda skinny," Pence described. I frowned. "He was wearing a black coat and--"

"And he had this crazy spiky red hair, like fire!" Olette finished. A lump formed in my throat.

AXEL?! my mind shouted at me. But why in the world would he do that?! What does he think that will help?

"Kairi..." Sora murmured, staring at a little charm that must've been a gift from Kairi. Sighing, he pocketed it once more.

"Ya think it mighta been Axel?" I heard Goofy whisper to Donald. My hands started to get clammy. Why?

"Sorry..." Hayner apologized.

"Hey, it's not your fault. C'mon, cheer up!" Sora insisted with a smile. But he easily slumped down, frowning. "Like I can even say that..." He sighed, then straightened up quickly.

"I gotta help Kairi!" he shouted, startling Goofy, who was still holding the trophy.

*~*~*

"Whoa!" Goofy yelped, dropping the trophy. The four expensive and rare crystals on top popped right off, rolling around in different directions. Luckily, Hayner, Pence, and Olette managed to pick them up.

"That was close!" Pence said as Sora scooped up the blue one.

Sora nodded, staring at the crystal. He slowly held it up to the light of the setting sun. The others followed suit. Even Goofy pulled the same blue crystal out of the munny pouch from before and held it out. Only Donald and Nexus were without.

It was strange...as Nexus watched Sora, she could've sworn she saw Roxas instead.

"Sora!?" Donald quacked, probably jealous of the others.

"Sora! Are you okay?" Goofy asked. Sora snapped back to reality.

"Huh? What...?" he murmured, looking around at everyone, who was staring at him.

Suddenly the crystal in his hand began to glow radiantly, and it floated into the air. Sora knew this well; he opened a new gateway with his keyblade.

"Wh-what just happened?" Pence asked when the ritual subsided.

"A new road is open," Sora replied, staring at the sky. "And Kairi and Riku are waiting somewhere along it."

"You'd better hurry, then," Olette told him, smiling.

"You comin' back?" Hayner asked.

"Promise!" the bold hero exclaimed, and the others nodded their own promise.

.........

Sighing, Sora slouched down into the pilot's seat, looking completely distraught.

"The King, Riku--and now I've lost Kairi again, too," he murmured, his eyes filling with tears of frustration. Nexus quietly sat on the window seat.

"Don't be sad!" Donald insisted.

"Donald's right, you know!" Goofy agreed. "Why, you're the key that connects everything!"

"So it's all MY fault."

"Gawrsh, I didn't mean that. Just do what comes natural to ya and we're sure to find 'em."

"You said it!" Donald exclaimed cheerfully. Sora nodded, then looked back at Nexus.

"Why aren't YOU saying anything?" he asked. She glanced at him, unable to keep eye contact.

"Why do you care if I don't say anything?" she replied. "Usually you're telling me to shut up."

"I know you know something. You do, don't you?"

"No, nothing you already don't," she lied. "And even if I did? Would I tell you? No. Now shut up and get some rest."

Sora glared at Nexus, but she only stretched her arms in front of her, stifling a yawn.

"Seriously, you need to sleep on this before you go and do something totally irrational," she insisted, slowly walking toward the bedroom.

Sighing through his nose angrily, Sora stood up abruptly and followed her. Donald and Goofy, exchanging worried looks, eventually tagged along too.

Sora knew Nexus knew something. He knew she was lying. It was just...he couldn't prove it like he wanted to. But he knew Nexus and Axel and Saix were all connected somehow. The people in black coats...

.........

"...Why?"

The blonde glanced up from the interesting story he was reading and stared at Nexus. Her eyes fluttered with deep sleep, her mouth forming a small frown. Her lips parted as she murmured another "Why?" and then closed again.

Talking in your sleep again, are you? he thought, glancing around the room. Well, don't worry. These guys aren't gonna be waking up anytime soon.

It was quite true. Every night, Donald put himself under a special sleep spell that allowed him to get a full night's rest--however long he needed--without any interruptions. In other words, he wouldn't hear anything except for maybe a nuclear explosion.

As for Goofy, he could and would easily sleep through anything, especially Nexus' soft whispers and quiet cries of despair.

Sora...was another story.

"Axel..."

The blonde frowned. Him again? Every night you say the same thing. 'Cept tonight, you added "why" to the mix. Is it because of Kairi?

As if in response to his thoughts, Nexus curled her hand into a tight fist. He held completely still, and she stayed asleep, her hand gradually uncurling again. Her childlike face was relaxed, her small body curled into a ball. She was very pretty, he decided. Very.

Instinctively he stuck his nose back into the story. It was getting pretty interesting. Some of it he could've predicted from the start, though.

"Help...help!"

It made him genuinely sad when she cried out like that. Something in her subconcious was truly bothering her.

Maybe it's her other self, he pondered, his attention turned back to her. Her other side.

Shutting the story, he placed it back under Nexus' bunk, sighing.

After all, we're always the problem.