Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return V2

Roxas's eyes widened slightly, his expression showing shock at the last few words. "That was you!" he hollered, rage evident in his voice. He felt his heart swirling with many emotions, and he was about to give in to the negative ones: anger, frustration, hatred, sorrow... Everything. Namine... She had been affected by Smith again!

Riku tightened his grasp on Way to Dawn at Roxas's shout, not liking the sound of any of this. He'd heard Roxas speak this man's name before: Smith. He definitely seemed evil, from what Riku was hearing.

 

Smith smirked faintly, glad to see that Roxas was smart enough to connect the dots. "That's right," he confirmed with a nod. "I'm messing with your Nobody's head again. Well, technically speaking, it is her head, not her mind. She's blocked me out so she can't hear my voice, but that hasn't stopped me from physically making her ill." The girl proved stronger than he initially expected, but she couldn't keep him away forever. If he had been given more time in the Realm of Darkness, he could have forced her to hear him. Of course, that wasn't necessary at this point.

Sora's eyes widened, the brunet watching the scene from where he was standing. Was he understanding this correctly? Smith was somehow making Namine physically ill?! How was that even possible!

 

"Leave her alone!" Roxas demanded harshly, taking a step forward as he shouted. "She hasn't done anything to you!" If Smith needed to mess with anybody, it would be Roxas. He was the one who fought him the first time in the warehouse, when he and Carter had been after Kairi. And then he fought him again in that same warehouse some time later. If Smith was to pick on anybody, it had to be Roxas. Of course, that was exactly what he was doing. He was torturing Roxas with this information.

Her? Riku's eyes widened slightly. He said Roxas's Nobody, and that could only mean... Riku instantly pictured the blonde girl, and he furrowed his eyebrows. This man was picking on Namine.

 

Smith just stared at Roxas when he heard the shout, thinking that the Nobody was incorrect. "She defied me," he said in a low tone of voice. He extended a hand in front of him, a little bit of darkness rising out of the palm of his hand. "Right now, your Nobody is probably close to fainting with dizziness. Or passed out, depending on how strong she is after a week of going through this." Though he couldn't see Namine's physical condition, he could sense it, and he knew that just now she had become weaker.

 

Roxas flexed his jaw, his heart experiencing fear because of what was happening to Namine and also rage due to Smith's actions. "Stop it!" he ordered, taking another step forward as he tightened his grasp on Oathkeeper and Oblivion.

Riku's eyes narrowed at Roxas's tone, seeing how easily Smith was getting to him. That was just it; Smith knew how easily Roxas was angered when he spoke of Namine so negatively. Riku had to admit he wasn't happy about it either, but Roxas needed to control himself, or he would do something irrational.

 

Sora furrowed his brows, not liking the way things appeared. Smith was powerful enough to affect Namine in a completely different realm, even after fighting a heated battle with Roxas. How was he so powerful? Did it have to do with what happened after Ansem and Nathaniel were defeated?

Smith continued to work his magic, the darkness still in his hand. It felt good, torturing her. And it was even better now that Roxas knew exactly what he was doing. Just like the good old days, he was torturing two Nobodies at once.

 

Roxas brought his left foot forward as he screamed at Smith. "I said, knock it off!" he roared, seeing how the man controlled the Darkness. He knew exactly who it was affecting too. Namine. Roxas couldn't take it anymore. He had to make him stop. The boy pulled back Oblivion and chucked it at Smith with a battle cry, hoping to strike him.

 

Smith lifted his gunblade and felt Roxas's Keyblade impact it, though it didn't do any damage to him. He watched the Keyblade fall to the ground, his eyes then wandering up to Roxas as if to say, What're you going to do now?

 

Roxas summoned Oblivion back to him as soon as it touched the ground with a sound of aggravation, desperate now. He then charged forward with an attack he had in his past, throwing both of his Keyblades horizontally when he was near Smith.

Riku could feel his adrenaline pumping through his viens from watching this fight, just like what had happened a few minutes ago as he observed Sora. Now he could understand why Roxas was so bitter before; this guy definitely didn't help things. And it was obvious that Roxas was fired up and ready to kill, but he wasn't thinking clearly. Riku knew he was just acting out of anger and impulse.

 

"Hmph," Smith said, turning his gunblade and deflecting one Keyblade and then another. Then he summoned the power of darkness, teleporting himself to another location, standing where Roxas had been standing before. "As much fun as this had been, it's time I make my exit. See you guys on the other side."

Sora arched a brow, tightening his grip on his Keyblades as he stared at Smith from a distance. What was he talking about, the 'other side'? As confused as Sora was, he had a bad feeling in the pit of his gut.

 

Roxas skidded to a halt, whirling around as his Keyblades naturally came back to his hands. He glared at Smith, his eyebrows furrowed. "What're you talking about?" he asked harshly, demanding that he be told. What did the "other side" mean?

Riku narrowed his eyes. He definitely didn't like this guy, and now he could see why Roxas hated him so much. He definitely belonged in Darkness, and Riku guessed Smith knew it too, taking in how he used the Darkness at his will.

 

"I'll let you three ponder that yourselves," Smith said, a slight smirk appearing on his lips as he looked around the realm and saw the three teens in their various locations. He then looked back to Roxas, lifting his empty hand and giving him a subtle wave. "Goodbye." A dark portal appeared behind him and he took two steps back into it, leaving the Realm of Darkness.

Sora's eyes widened, seeing Smith go into the portal. What!? Where was he going? There was no 'other side' to the Realm of Darkness; this was it. Right? He shifted his gaze to Riku, hoping his friend understood more than he did.

 

"No!" Roxas raced forward, but the portal disappeared just as he swung at it. But it didn't stop him; he continuously swung at the empty space in frustration. After a few seconds, he simply gripped his blades and lowered his head, trying to calm his rage, even if he didn't think it was possible at the moment.

Riku's eyes had been on Roxas, seeing his reactions. Then he felt Sora's gaze on him and turned his head to look at his best friend, easily seeing the questioning look from the distance between them. He then lowered his head in thought. The other side...

 

Sora kept his Keyblades in his hands, though he didn't sense a threat in the area. He was coming up blank on what Smith had been talking about, the brunet very confused. There was a lot he didn't understand about Smith right now, and that was preventing him from figuring this out.

 

"...There are only two sides to anything: Light and Dark," Riku declared, his eyes staring at the dark ground. "And there is the Realm of Light and the Realm of Darkness. We're in the Realm of Darkness..." He tightened his grasp on Way to Dawn at what he figured out, lifting his eyes to look at Sora. The other side. He knew exactly what Smith meant now.

 

Sora's eyes widened slightly, catching onto what Riku was implying immediately. "You don't mean...?" No, he can't be saying that Smith is--He didn't finish the thought, not allowing himself to. It was far too awful to think that, even if it were true.

 

Roxas turned his head to the side, looking at Riku and Sora not too far off. He managed to calm himself down, but not by much. He had been listening to what was going on now, and he wanted to hear what they had come up with. What was Smith talking about before?

Riku nodded, a grim expression taking over his features. "He's going to the Realm of Light," he finally announced. What he didn't understand was how that was possible, but there wasn't time to ask questions.

"What?" Roxas said in disbelief, anger coming through in his voice. Namine was there! They had to go!

 

Sora's eyes remained wide, though he loosened his grip on the Keyblades at the news. Smith was in the Realm of Light, where all the worlds he had come to love were. Destiny Islands, Hollow Bastion, Earth...Earth?! The girls!

 

Riku's head turned to Roxas, his aqua eyes landing on him instantly. "We need to move. Now," he stated. They needed to get back to the Realm of Light, and fast. Chaos would ensue if they didn't.

Roxas felt his grip on his blades loosen a little at the words, the boy nodding once stiffly. Namine was in the Realm of Light, and he needed to get to her. Fast.

 

Sora nodded as well, tearing his gaze away from Riku as he tried to find the ship. However, his eyes never fully adjusted to the place; he couldn't see more than a hundred feet in front of him. "Where's the ship?" he asked, immediately looking to Riku for the answer.