Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return V2

Riku brought his Keyblade up into his stance once Smith was farther away, the teen still standing in front of Roxas's form. He glanced behind him slightly, though his eyes immediately went back to Smith. Get up, guys. Get up now, he thought, though he knew the wish couldn't be heard.

Roxas groaned slightly, his brows knitting together as his senses returned. He didn't hear anything, but still felt the chill of the ground underneath him. He slowly opened his blue eyes, seeing feet in front of him. He moved his head a little and saw Riku, Keyblade drawn. Roxas's gaze then fell on the person not far from him and Riku, and his eyes widened. Smith! The blond quickly pushed himself up from the ground, his sight not able to see much farther than Smith's position due to the lack of light. He knew instantly where he was as he stood a little to the side and behind Riku. The Realm of Darkness.

 

Sora's fingers twitched, the brunet forming a fist with a hand that was by his head. The darkness that surrounded him made him feel uneasy, but he couldn't find the strength to open his eyes, let alone rise to his feet. He grunted softly, trying to get a focus on reasons he needed to wake up instead of stay on the ground. He needed a few more seconds; then he would be up.

"Welcome to my world," Smith said, taking a few steps back and standing right next to Namine. He noticed that Sora was having a little more trouble getting up than the other two, probably because the Keyblade bearer contained a great amount of light in his heart. Regardless, Smith wasn't going to attack--not yet.

 

Riku glanced out of the corner of his eye when he heard Roxas move, and that was when he realized that he was up on his feet. However, that didn't ease his worries. Sora still wasn't up yet, and Smith was moving dangerously close to the girls.

Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion to his sides immediately, in his stance as he finally saw who Smith was standing by. "Namine! Kairi!" he cried, finally seeing them and that they were okay. Of course, that was when he registered the Heartless binding them. That was when Roxas's eyes turned sharp and bright with anger, his jaw flexing as he looked back to Smith.

Kairi struggled against the hold the Heartless had on her at Roxas's cry, glad to see him up and moving again. However, he didn't look good, and neither did Riku. They obviously had been fighting for a while, which spiked her fear and worries.

 

"I told them you were unharmed," Smith said, turning his head and speaking to the two girls beside him. His voice, though, was loud enough for everybody else to hear as well. "But they didn't seem to believe me, so I thought that maybe I should show them." Seeing is believing, after all, he thought, shifting his gaze to Riku and Roxas and Sora, the latter starting to stir.

Namine felt like she wanted to roll her eyes at Smith's words, the girl aware that there was far more to it than that. Smith was pure evil, and purely predictable when it came to when he would taunt his enemies.

Sora winced, setting his hands on the cold ground in front of him as he forced himself to open his eyes. He blinked, seeing the darkness all around him. He pushed himself up onto his knees, his eyes immediately lifting to see Smith standing right beside the girls. He felt the anger cover up the pain, the brunet forcing himself to his feet.

 

Riku's eyes narrowed at the words, the teen's lips set in a firm line. "I doubt that's the only reason. You knew the sight of their restraints wouldn't make us feel any better," he said tensely. It was obvious by the way that they were being held that Smith wasn't taking any chances, and yet he was having fun with this. Whatever.

Roxas silently agreed with Riku's words, though he had another view on it. "...You were losing," he said tightly. "That's why you brought us here too." He was more powerful in this Realm than the other, and he knew he was losing to Sora, Riku, and Roxas when he decided to leave the Realm of Light.

 

Smith shrugged lightly, though Roxas and Riku were both correct. "Believe what you want," he said evenly. "You'll find that in my realm, things always turn out my way." He was the strongest person here, and he could summon all the Heartless that he wanted. However, he wouldn't do that; he would fight Riku, Roxas, and Sora himself, after he got in a little bit of taunting.

Sora glared at Smith, the Kingdom Key appearing in his grasp without thought. "In case you don't remember, last time we were here, we killed off two of your allies," he said, a slight smirk appearing on his lips as he mocked the man.

 

Riku recognized Sora's words, and he would have said the same thing himself if his best friend didn't mention it. He kept his grip on Way to Dawn tight for now, though he knew that Smith was just beginning.

Kairi pressed her lips together at Sora's words, recalling that Nathaniel had been here alongside Smith. She didn't like the thought, and the hold the Heartless had on her wasn't so great either. The Realm of Darkness wasn't a good place for her or her friends to be; she could feel herself getting weaker the longer she spent time here. She could only imagine what kind of impact it was having on the boys.

 

"I knew that you would kill them," Smith said honestly. "I didn't expect them to survive against the Keyblade masters from the Realm of Light," he said, shifting his gaze from Riku to Sora as he said this.

What--? Sora was confused now, and he always hated feeling that way. "If you knew that they would die, why did you make them your allies?" he asked, his voice showing that he expected an answer. And he had a feeling Smith would give him one, since the man had no more secrets to hide.

 

Roxas briefly noticed Smith pointedly calling Sora and Riku the Keyblade masters from the Realm of Light, not able to miss the fact that he had failed to defeat his foe, Smith, either. If DiZ was right, and Roxas really did reside in Darkness, why couldn't he defeat Smith? His eyes lowered to the ground at the thought.

 

"Surely you must realize it by now, Sora," Smith said, staring at the naive Keyblade wielder with his amber eyes. "Or are you as dumb as everyone says you are?" Sora had a reputation for being a bit slow, or not picking the brightest of friends, when it came to traveling with Donald Duck and Goofy. The kid didn't get it, did he?

Sora clenched his hand in a fist at the insult, staying silent. No, he he wasn't dumb; he just didn't understand it. But he was that once Smith got in a few jabs, then he would enlighten him on what his purpose was for allowing Nathaniel and Xehanort's Heartless to work with him.

 

Riku furrowed his eyebrows at the insult thrown at his best friend. Who in the world ever said that Sora was stupid? Yeah, Riku poked fun at him a few times, but he was just kidding. Where did this guy get off telling Sora who he was?

 

"Alright, I'll tell you," Smith said, seeing how he was only being answered with glares. "Each time one of my 'allies' was slain by a Keyblade, his life energy was released into the air. Their energy was drawn to mine, thus allowing me to--"

"--Escape into the Realm of Light," Sora said, finishing Smith's sentence. It made sense now; those orbs that he had seen when he defeated Nathaniel floated right over to Smith, and if he wasn't mistaken, they also made him stronger in battle. At least, that was the impression that Sora got from Roxas.

 

Roxas remembered the pyreflies that floated over to Smith during their battle here previously. "That was why I couldn't defeat you," he said, looking back up at his enemy. He gained more power from Xehanort's Heartless and Prince Nathaniel. If he was aware of what happened, did that mean he had this planned from the beginning?

 

"And why you never will defeat me," Smith said, shifting his gaze to Roxas when the Nobody spoke. "True, I don't have all their power inside of me. But I have enough that I can travel freely to different Realms and different worlds. I can defeat Riku in only two attacks on your home world. And, I can take two of the girls that are more precious to you than anything else."

Namine looked at Smith at the mention, even though he wasn't looking at her and Kairi. Smith spoke with such confidence, that it scared her. If he could do all the things he said he could, then he was truly a powerful force to be reckoned with. And unfortunately, as they all knew, Smith wasn't lying about his strength.

 

Riku's grasp on Way to Dawn tightened at the mention of his defeat, as well as the girls. He was getting sick of this taunting. It did nothing but make them feel worse about themselves. He supposed that was the point, but Riku was done with it. "Don't listen to him," he told his friends strictly.

Roxas glanced at the teen standing beside him out of the corner of his eye, but his eyes immediately went back to Smith. His eyes lingered there before moving to Namine. His grasp grew tighter on his Keyblades at the sight of her. He had to save her... He had to, or he would die trying.

 

"In your case, Roxas," Smith continued, staring at the blond Nobody as he spoke, "I can also affect your Nobody. Weakness, sickness...whatever it is, I can cause it." The man noticed Namine look away out of the corner of his eye and he turned his gaze to her, bringing up a hand and turning her head towards him. "Isn't that right, Witch?"

Namine furrowed her brows at the name, not giving Smith any retort. She knew that he was picking on her, both to torture her and Roxas. But, as scared as she was, she wasn't going to give in to him. She was stronger than she was the last time he had her in his grasp. This time, things would be different.

 

Riku noticed Roxas take a step forward at Smith's actions, and he glanced at the boy. "Roxas, don't listen to him," he repeated again. He was playing the same game over again; getting inside your head and then affecting your heart until you were too defeated to give your all in battle. It was sickening, and Roxas couldn't give in.

Roxas's eyes pierced Smith, his blood beginning to boil that Smith was touching Namine. He heard Riku, but he couldn't make himself listen. Everything Smith said was true; he could affect Namine, something Roxas hated. "Take your hands off of her!" he ordered loudly.

 

Smith shifted his gaze to Roxas, his hand still on Namine's face. "Alright, if you insist," he said, almost sounding casual. "But that doesn't stop me from doing this." He extended his palm slightly, darkness coming out of the palm of his hand in the same way that it did last time when he had informed Roxas as to what he was doing. He then looked to Namine, who had lowered her gaze to the ground, probably in dizziness or weakness. Or, to Smith's delight, a combination of the two.

 

Kairi's eyes had been on her best friend, and they still were after she glanced away from Smith's hand. "Namine?" she called, her voice full of worry and fright.

Roxas's eyes widened, now on Namine. "No! Leave her alone!" he begged, his eyes falling back on Smith. Now that Namine was right beside Smith, there was no doubt that his powers affected her even more. He couldn't stand seeing it. Smith had to stop!

 

Namine furrowed her brows, feeling a little bit of dizziness. However, she shoved it away, mentally fighting back against Smith. No. She wasn't going to allow him to hurt her again. He had done enough of that in the past, and she was done letting him walk all over her. It ended now. She lifted her head and looked at him, at the same time feeling his influence on her vanish.

Smith looked at Namine, his eyes widening slightly when he realized that he wasn't affecting her. He summoned more darkness, but again, he didn't see a change in her. How did she manage to block him out?!