Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return V2

Roxas remained where he was, his worried eyes looking from Smith to Namine in the silence. His expression only mimicked his emotion, though he was slightly confused at what was going on here.

Riku recognized immediately what had happened. He felt the corner of his lip turn up into a smirk. By the look on her face, he knew Namine wasn't fazed by Smith anymore. Way to be strong, he praised silently.

 

"How are you able to resist me?" Smith boomed, outraged at this turn of events. Namine always stood up to him one way or another but this...this was unheard of! He had powerful darkness, powerful enough to influence her when she was in a totally different realm. And now that he was in his realm, right next to her, she stood up to him? How wasn't she quaking in fear of him?!

Namine didn't respond, knowing better than to humor Smith with any words or a change in facial expression. He wasn't going to walk over her, ever. She was done being somebody for him to play with whenever he wanted to have fun, or torture her friends with. She was done with him.

Sora felt his lips turn up in a slight smirk, relieved to see that Namine was no longer affected by Smith's dark magics. He didn't quite understand it himself, but he was glad that she was alright.

 

She's what? Roxas's worried look slowly turned into one of confusion, but then he felt himself smile as he started to comprehend what was happening. Namine... She did it! She beat Smith at his own game! He finally understood now, and he felt proud of her. That's my girl, he thought silently.

 

Smith kept trying to influence her, calling upon the darkness for support as he tried to bring her back down to a lower level. "You're nothing," he said in a low tone of voice. "You're not even supposed to exist. You have no power whatsoever, so you are foolish to think that you can resist me."

Namine blinked, the talk not phasing her. It was all things she had heard before, but she never would fall for those lies again. She had her life; she had friends who cared for her, and who she cared for as well. And she did have power, which was exactly why Smith was talking down to her now.

 

Roxas's smile slowly turned into a smirk as the moments passed on, minutes where Namine didn't even budge under Smith's insults. "If anybody's foolish, it's you," he told Smith. "A lot has changed since the last time you were around." And a lot certainly had. Everyone was different than before; stronger, if not wiser.

 

Smith shifted his gaze to Roxas, his frown deepening at the Nobody's words. He stopped summoning the darkness and looked down at Namine, seeing that terrible look of confidence upon her face. He pulled back his hand and slapped her, the force enough to make her turn her head in the opposite direction. "Always was a stubborn witch," he said lowly. Namine had changed since he had last seen her, and he hated that she had the nerve to stand up to him.

 

Roxas's smirk instantly faded, his eyes widening at the action. But he hasn't changed at all! The blond boy gripped his Keyblades tighter once the anger set in, his concerned eyes turning from Namine as they transformed into those of fury. He glared at Smith. "Didn't you hear what I said?!" he roared. "Keep your hands off of her!"

Kairi cringed at Roxas's voice, though her eyes remained on Namine. Her blue eyes were set on her best friend, worried over the pained look on her face. The boys had to do something! They had to stop Smith before he hurt Namine anymore!

 

"I have no reason to obey a Nobody like you!" Smith hollered back, shifting his gaze to Roxas as his eyes burned with anger. He had already been disgraced by one Nobody; he wasn't about to allow Roxas to do that same thing to him.

Namine took in a breath, her eyebrows furrowed over her closed eyes at the pain of the slap. That really hurt! But of course, she had sort of been expecting it; she knew from past experience that Smith didn't like it when she stood up to him.

 

"And Namine has no reason to obey you!" Roxas hollered back in response, taking another step forward from his anger. "None of us do!" He wasn't going to sit around and let Smith treat his friends like they all belonged in Darkness. He was sure they were willing to do the same thing, and that was defeat Smith for good.

Riku kept his grip on Way to Dawn tight, still in his stance and prepared for the worst. Things seemed to be heating up, and he knew Roxas was ready for a fight. He wouldn't doubt that one would ensue shortly.

 

Sora glanced at Roxas out of the corner of his eye before he looked back to Smith. Roxas, don't lose your temper, he thought, wishing he could say it aloud and get through to his friend. If Roxas attacked when Smith was expecting him to, then they could miss out on an opportunity to get in a sneak attack.

 

"Who do you think you are anyway?!" Roxas ordered, his grip on his Keyblades tight as he yelled at Smith. "You think you can treat us like we're dirt? Like we're nothing?! Get real!" The blond glared at Smith with bright, sharp eyes, his temper coming through more as he continued. "We've defeated you in the past, and we're gonna do it again!"

Kairi's eyes were on Roxas now, the girl seeing how enraged he was at what was going on here. She cautiously looked at Smith, who was still on the other side of Namine. She wasn't sure what to expect from him, but it certainly wasn't good.

 

Smith wasn't surprised at Roxas's temper, he had seen it before. He always enjoyed angering the boy, especially when it came to Namine. Today, though, she had stood up to him, so it would be hard for him to use her against Roxas. "Strong words from somebody who was never meant to exist," he said, hearing the threat that Roxas made.

Sora gripped his weapon tightly, glaring at Smith from his spot. He hated it whenever people brought up Roxas's existence, the brunet then remembering when Riku himself was angered by Sora's dedication to a Nobody. That was a long time ago, though, so maybe Riku had changed...?

 

Roxas gritted his teeth together, growling slightly under his breath. He should have expected a response like that; Smith never did let up on his existence. But Roxas... He never really was meant to exist. But what was it that Namine said so long ago...about them being different?

Riku furrowed his brows a little due to Smith's response. He had thought the same thing only months ago...

 

Namine glanced at Roxas, seeing that he wasn't responding to Smith's jab. Under any other circumstances, she would have felt concern for Roxas, but with Smith next to her, she felt more like standing up for her boyfriend. Before she could, though, Smith spoke.

"And since you weren't meant to exist," Smith said, turning his head to Namine mid-sentence to find her looking at him, "I suppose that means that the Witch shouldn't exist, either." Both of them were lousy, useless, and worthless mistakes. Whether they believed it or not, that was the truth of their existence.

 

Roxas glanced at Namine at the words, his eyes softening some. Why couldn't he remember what she said?! It would help so much, but all he could think about was what DiZ told him, and what Smith was saying to him now. He was never meant to exist, and instead resided in Darkness...

Kairi felt insulted herself at the jabs Smith was making at Namine, considering the girl was a part of her. She didn't like hearing it, which only made her furrow her eyebrows in anger and disgust. Who was he to tell them who they were? He didn't know anything about them.

 

Smith lowered a hand, holding under Namine's jaw to keep her looking at him. He saw the anger in her sky blue eyes, but he didn't care; he was using her to bug Roxas again, and that was perfectly alright with him. "Why don't I just end it now?" Smith asked, referring to Namine's existence. "She was never meant to exist in the first place."

 

Roxas's eyes widened in fear. "No!" he cried instantly, his grasp on his blades loosening slightly. No, he couldn't! Not Namine...

Kairi's eyes grew in fright and worry, the girl looking at Smith and Namine. The boys had to do something! Smith didn't look like he was lying!

Riku's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before they became icy once more. If Smith thought Namine and Roxas were such a waste of space, why would he waste his time on them? That's what Riku didn't get. If he thought they were worthless, nothing, then why was he so focused on them?

 

Smith tightened his grip on Namine's jaw, seeing the fear start appearing in her eyes again. Finally. "It'll be easy for me to do," Smith said, keeping his gaze on the girl as he spoke. "Like breaking a toothpick." He could snap her neck right now if he wanted to, but before he killed her, he wanted to see if he could get more use out of her. That was the only thing Nobodies were good for: being used.

Sora glanced at Roxas out of the corner of his eye, having heard his friend's alarmed cry earlier. Smith was laying down a lot of serious threats, and Sora was uncomfortable that he seemed serious about following through with them.

 

Roxas took a step forward, shaking his head in fear. "No! No, stop!" he cried. If Smith wanted to hurt anyone, he needed to hurt Roxas. Not Namine; she didn't do anything. It was Roxas he wanted.

"Why are you wasting your time?" Riku demanded, his voice calm compared to Roxas's. He lowered his blade from his stance now, seeing as there was no point; Smith wanted to taunt everyone first.

 

Smith looked to Riku, a bit surprised that the older teen had jumped in. He had been quiet thus far, so it was strange to hear him speak up. He released Namine's jaw, his hand coming back down to his side as he glared at the teen. "I could ask you the same, Riku," he said in a low tone of voice. "Why waste your time defending a Nobody?" Obviously Riku had spoken up for either Roxas's sake or Namine's, which was something pointless to do for either of them.

Namine exhaled a shaky breath, turning her head away from Smith when he finally released her jaw. That had really hurt, and she wished that she could bring up a hand and rub her chin. However, the Heartless behind her wouldn't release her, so she had no choice but to try and ignore the discomfort. She looked from Roxas to Riku, silently thanking him for intervening.