Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return V2

Riku ground his teeth together, but otherwise did nothing. "I made a mistake," he admitted. Maleficent hadn't been much help either, but it wasn't like she was the only influence. He had seen Sora, and how he acted with Donald and Goofy. He had been searching like crazy for Sora and Kairi, but his best friend appeared to only be goofing off. Riku knew that there was more to that now, and that he shouldn't have made that assumption. It was a mistake he would regret for the rest of his life, because it not only made him feel guilty, but it also triggered Ansem's appearance in his heart.

 

"Your 'mistake' led to the destruction of your world," Ansem said, continuing to stare at Riku with his yellowish eyes. "You honestly believe that anybody has forgotten that?" Sora had to have held a grudge against Riku for that, even if it didn't appear on the surface. After all, Riku had betrayed him, and tried to kill him. Surely the Keyblade Master didn't only have anger against Nathaniel; he must have had some for Riku as well.

 

Riku didn't move, too tense from the words Ansem was speaking. No! He couldn't let him affect him again; it would only lead to his own falling. But he couldn't deny that Ansem was right. It was his fault that the Islands were attacked by Darkness, because he was foolish enough to open the door in the Secret Place.

 

When Riku didn't answer him, Ansem continued speaking. "I see that you haven't forgotten about it, either," he said. Riku had become more tense throughout this whole thing, and Ansem was pleased that he was getting to his enemy. In this case, though, it wasn't a battle of the heart; once Ansem killed Riku in a physical battle, then he would be able to escape to the Realm of Light and live in his own body, not somebody else's.

 

Riku tightened his grasp on his sword, glancing from Ansem's glowing eyes to those of his Guardian. Memories of his days in that form returned, the boy also thinking of what Ansem was saying. There was a lot of his past he wished he could take back, but that was impossible. "I've learned to live with the mistakes I've made in the past," Riku told Ansem with confidence. "But I can't live knowing that you're still alive. I hope you're prepared to die, and for good this time." His eyes turned sharp as he glared at his enemy in front of him. "With my help, you got as far as you did last time, but I'm not going to let that happen again!"

 

Ansem unfolded his arms, a "hmph" leaving his lips at Riku's words. He said that he had learned to live with the mistakes, but he could see in the teen's eyes that it was still painful. Good; that was what he deserved after leaving him to rot in the Realm of Darkness.

 

"So enough talk," Riku stated lowly. He let his aquamarine eyes glare at Ansem and his Guardian for a few seconds longer, the boy then pulling a hand back and crying out as he shot Dark Aura at the foe. He wasn't going down so easily. He knew how the Darkness was manipulated here, which meant he wasn't blind in the dark. He was going to defeat Ansem, for good this time.

 

Ansem saw the dark orbs coming in on him and he opened his hands, a large staff appearing in his hands immediately. He had used this during his last battle against Sora, and he was hopefully going to have better luck this time around. He spun it skillfully, hitting the orbs and destroying them on impact.

 

Riku wasn't fazed by the deflect of his attack, the older boy running forward and leaping at Ansem. He pulled his blade back and started to bring it down as gravity started to pull him back to the ground.

 

"Come, Guardian!" Ansem said, summoning his Guardian to do the fighting for him. He himself moved back a few steps, the Guardian standing in front of him. The beast lifted one of his large arms, his hand grabbing onto Riku's Keyblade when it came down.

 

Riku felt his body swing slightly from the grab, the boy not touching the ground because of the hold on his Keyblade. But he didn't hesitate his next move. He held onto his blade with one hand, while the other pulled back and shot Dark Aura once more at the Guardian directly in front of him.

 

Ansem's Guardian lifted its arm, a moan of pain leaving the creature when the Dark Aura impacted his arm. However, he didn't lose his grip on Riku's Keyblade. He swung it through the air once and then released Riku at the peak of the swing, sending the teen into the air.

 

Riku felt his grip on his blade slip completely, crying out as he was thrown into the air. He didn't have time to gain his balance and try to land lightly on his feet, instead crashing onto the floor of the Realm. He squeezed his eyes shut, grunting at the pain in his back. But he knew he had to get up.

 

The Guardian moved back behind Ansem, who was now staring at Riku on the ground. However, he then shifted his gaze to the other fights, seeing Roxas and Smith going at it while Sora battled Nathaniel. He didn't care about the first two, but like he told Riku, he would have loved to kill Sora. Might as well have some fun with this, he thought, mentally telling his plans to the Guardian. His next attack would be aimed for Riku, but if Riku dodged it like he expected him to, then Sora would be hit instead. Perfect.

 

Riku pushed himself up from his place on the ground, rising to his feet. His eyes immediately found Ansem and the Guardian, which made him summon his blade back to him quickly. "Don't think I can take a hit?!" he yelled, becoming angry at the fact Ansem's attention was elsewhere.

 

Ansem redirected his gaze to Riku, his eyebrows furrowing in concentration. Now, Guardian, he thought, at the same time sensing his Guardian preparing the attack. The creature stayed behind him and shot disks of darkness at Riku in a powerful move called "Shock Slash", multiple disks running along the ground to where Riku was standing.

 

Riku's eyes widened at the attack, temporarily forgetting his anger as he moved to dodge the attacks. He rolled to the side in a quick attempt to avoid the disks, seeing them coming toward him along the ground.

 

Sora heard a faint noise behind him, his instincts also warning him of the threat. Having no other choice, he looked over his shoulder just in time for the dark disks to impact him hard, a cry leaving his lips at the attacks. He fell to one knee, though his eyes instantly went back to Nathaniel, who would surely take advantages of the circumstances and attack him while he was down.

 

Riku heard the cry and whirled around once he was to his feet. "Sora!" he cried, knowing the attack that was originally meant for him ended up hitting his best friend. Riku felt his blood boil, somehow aware that this hadn't been a mistake. He turned his angry eyes to Ansem and didn't hesitate running at him, rage building up inside him.

Nathaniel felt the urge to laugh at Sora's fall, though he didn't waste the energy. Instead, he moved forward quickly, bringing his sword down from an arch to attack Sora's shoulder. He wasn't going to miss out on this opportunity, even if it was a cheap shot.

 

Sora lifted the Kingdom Key, feeling Nathaniel's sword come in contact with his own before it could land a blow on his shoulder. However, Sora knew that he was at a disadvantage; his knee was still on the ground, and he couldn't put enough force against Nathaniel's sword to push him off.