(A/N: Enjoy all you happy people!)

The Hunchback Nobody of Twilight Town

Chapter 4: HEEEEERE'S AXEL!

In the streets of Twilight Town, in the midst of all the activity, a man around twenty and his horse walked, lost. The man had spiky, gravity-defying red hair that seemed to shoot out of the back of his head, emerald green eyes, and purple triangle-shaped tattoos underneath his eyes. He wore golden armor, a large sword at his side. His horse was pitch black with a white heart on his chest. It wore a saddle and reigns, with which the man pulled him by, and some burlap sacks on its sides. The two stopped for a moment for the man to consult a map.

"Huh, ya leave town for a couple of decades and they change everything," he said to the horse, crumpling up the useless map and throwing it away. The horse snorted in agreement.

The redhead turned to see two guards walking by. "Excuse me, gentlemen, I'm looking for the Palace of Justice. Would you-" They continued to walk by, ignoring him as he talked. He left his mouth open for a bit before saying, "-Hmm, I guess not."

Meanwhile, in a corner, a pretty young girl was dancing for money as a young boy played the clarinet and a goat pranced around. The girl had short black hair and ocean blue eyes, and wore a ragged black t-shirt, equally ragged black shorts, and no shoes. The boy had spiky, messy, gravity-defying red hair and sapphire blue eyes, and wore a green t-shirt, patched up black shorts, and no shoes as well. The goat was white with a bit of black on his head and nose. A woman and her child walked by, but the woman steered her child away from them.

"Stay away, child. They're gypsies. They'll steal us blind."

As the two left, the man in armor approached the gypsies. Entranced by the girl's dancing, he dropped a few coins into the hat on the ground. The girl smiled at him as she continued to dance, silently thanking him.

While the armored man was walking away, a small boy on top of the wall appeared. He had messy black hair that spiked everywhere, and sapphire blue eyes with golden tints in them. He wore no shirt, no shoes, and black shorts. (A/N: I'm seeing a theme here.) He whistled at the other gypsies, who quickly scrambled for cover. As the redhaired gypsy grabbed the hat, coins flew everywhere. He ran, ignoring them. The girl tried to gather the change, but guards arrived before she could collect it all.

"All right, gypsy, where'd ya get the money?" asked one. He had a strange black ponytail with gray streaks, and amber eyes.

"For your information, I earned it," the girl said defiantly.

"Gypsies don't earn money," the guard sneered.

"You steal it?" asked the other guard. He had messy, spiky auburn hair and blue eyes, and seemed pretty well-muscled.

"You'd know a lot about stealing!" the girl spat.

"Troublemaker!" said the ponytailed one.

"Maybe a day in the stocks will cool you down," said the muscled one, grabbing her arm. The girl kneed his crotch, causing him to let go and clutch it in pain. The other guard tried to get her, but she dodged him. She ran. As the guards began to chase her, the armored man blocked them with his horse, and they fell to the ground. The ponytailed one just so happened to be in the right spot, and...

"Vanitas! Sit!" Vanitas obeyed, plopping his rear on the man's back, causing him to land splat in a puddle with the horse sitting on top of him. Vani snickered.

"Oh, dear, I'm sorry," said the redhead, feigning surprise. He shook his finger at the horse. "Naughty horse, naughty! He's just impossible! Really, I can't take him anywhere."

"Get this thing off me!" cried the guard in the puddle.

"I'll teach you a lesson, peasant!" said the large one, approaching the redhead and pulling out a small dagger. To this, the redhead pulls out his much larger sword.

"You were saying … Lieutenant?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

The guard's eyes widened in shock. "Oh, Captain Axel!" He saluted. "At your service, sir!"

Axel went over to the guard on the ground and sliced a bit of his ponytail off with his sword as he stuck it in the ground next to his head. "I know you have a lot on your mind right now, but … the Palace of Justice?"

"Make way! Make way! Captain Axel coming through! Make way!" The guards pushed the crowd out of their way, allowing the Captain to pass. As he walked, he saw some coins on the ground. He picked them up and dropped them in the hat of an old man sitting on the street. After he passed, the 'old man' pulled his hood down to reveal the goat sitting on the girl's head. She looked at the man curiously, then at the goat.

"Come on, boy. Vanitas! Heel!" Axel said to the horse.

The Palace of Justice was really a torture place, made for those who Xemnas decided to 'teach a lesson' to. Inside one of the rooms, a flogging was occurring, with Xemnas watching intently.

"Guard!" Xemnas called to the man. The guard had long, black dreadlocks and violet eyes.

"Sir?"

"Ease up. Wait between lashes. Otherwise the older sting will dull him to the new."

"Yes, sir."

Just then, Captain Axel arrived. Xemnas turned to him.

"Ah, so this is the gallant Captain Axel, home from the wars."

"Reporting for duty, as ordered, sir."

"Your service record precedes you, Axel. I expect nothing but the best from a war hero of your calibre."

"And you shall have it, sir. I guarantee it."

"Yes. You know, my last captain of the guard was, um, a bit of a disappointment to me."

They were interrupted by a whip crack and a girly like scream. Axel, startled by both, turned to look at the prisoner. The man (apparently Xemnas' last captain) had long blue hair, an X-shaped scar on his forehead, and amber eyes. Not wanting to see more, Axel turned back to Xemnas, looking a bit horrified.

"Well, no matter. I'm sure you'll whip my men into shape."

"Uh, thank you, sir, uh, very, uh, trem- uh, a tremendous honor, sir," the redhead stuttered.

The two walked outside and rested on a stone wall overlooking the city.

"You come to Twilight Town in her darkest hour, Captain. It will take a firm hand to save the weak-minded from being so easily misled."

"Misled, sir?"

"Look, Captain..." said Xemnas, gesturing down to the streets far below them. Axel could see a couple gypsies dancing in the streets again. "...Gypsies. The gypsies live outside the normal order. Their heathen ways inflame the peoples' lowest instincts, and they must be stopped."

Axel looked a bit surprised and annoyed. "I was summoned from the wars to capture fortune tellers and palm readers?"

"Oh, the real war, Captain, is what you see before you. For fifteen years, I have been taking care of the gypsies, one..." He smooshed an ant that had been crawling on the wall. "...By..." Another flat ant. "...One..." All three ants, crushed on the tile. Xemnas then flipped the tile over, revealing scores of ants scurrying around underneath.

"And yet," he said sadly, "For all of my success, they have thrived. I believe they have a safe haven, within the walls of this very city. A nest, if you will," he said, gesturing to the ants again. "They call it the Court of Miracles."

"What are we going to do about it, sir?"

Xemnas grinned evilly at him and slammed the tile back down, turning it a bit to crush the remainder of the ants.

"You make your point quite vividly, sir."

"You know, I like you captain. Shall we?"

He began to leave, when the crowd below started to cheer loudly.

Sighing, he said, "Oh, duty calls. Have you ever attended a peasant festival, Captain?"

"Not … recently, sir."

"Then this should be quite an education for you. Come along."

(A/N: And there he is! Captain Phoebus, the one and only, AXEL! *Cheers.

Okay, two gypsies that I wrote down are my OC's. If you care, you can ask in a review or PM or somethin' for their names, personality, etc., whatever.

VANI'S A HOOOORSE! BAHAHAHAHAHA! AND HE SAT ON XIGBAR! LOLOLOLOL!

If you can't tell, the guards (in the order they are introduced) are: Xigbar, Lexaeus, and the return of Xaldin (Who was in Chapter 2).

Who's Esmeralda and the goat? I AIN'T TELLIN' YOU YET!

Axel: R+R, and remember, FIRE IS GOOOOOOOD!)