Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora kept his position, eyes staying on Roxas. He felt a pang of hurt himself when Roxas winced. The two of them were connected, so it was natural to sympathize with somebody you were so close to. He stayed silent for a moment, hoping that this would end sooner than a few of his other "episodes."

 

Roxas groaned again, images of him and his best friend flashing behind his closed eyes. They met each other every day on the clock tower, after work. Work involving the collection of hearts. Roxas let out another sharp cry as a shock of pain rang through his head, the boy suddenly seeing himself fighting with his Keyblade in Twilight Town, wearing the attire of one that belonged to the Organization. And then he was leaving, passing Axel as he walked through The World That Never Was. "...No one would miss me." His tone... It was bitter and empty, cold and dark. Roxas's other knee came down to rest on the hard ground, the vision of him walking down the rainy streets of The World That Never Was beginning to blur, right when he was suddenly surrounded by Heartless.

 

Sora glanced behind him at Riku, his eyes showing his worry and concern. There was nothing either of them could do to snap Roxas out of this; they had tried a few other times, and obviously if they couldn't do it in the middle of a battle where all the noise should have startled him, they couldn't do it now when things were calm. He turned back to Roxas, watching his friend carefully.

 

Riku met Sora's gaze, but it immediately fell back on Roxas. This was definitely worse. He had never observed one of Roxas's "episodes" as one that was so painful.

Roxas gasped for breath as soon as the image disappeared, his eyes flashing open as he breathed heavily. He stared at the grey rock beneath him. Axel... The Organization... He knew he was a part of it, but he didn't realize just how much he had done while in it.

 

Sora kept a hand on Roxas' shoulder, the other on his knee as he knelt down by his best friend. Roxas was in bad shape, even if he did appear to come out of...well, whatever it was. His best friend had never told him about what he was going through, though Sora assumed it was fairly important. Actually, it seemed extremely important now, due to what just happened here.

 

Riku walked forward a few steps, standing beside Sora and Roxas. He looked down on them both, seeing how Sora backed Roxas up again, but in a different way. It didn't surprise him; Sora always was the first one tending to someone who needed help. But he couldn't help but wonder what Roxas was actually experiencing. He never spoke about it. Not even once.

Roxas swallowed air and continued to breath heavily, though it started to calm after a minute. He remembered what he told Namine so long ago: "Organization XIII. They're a bad group." And he had been a part of that. He didn't know until these memories actually started appearing what he had actually done to help them.

 

Sora felt as if he had been silent for far too long; he really needed to know for sure if his best friend was alright. "Roxas. Talk to me," he said, his voice showing his worry. He tilted his head slightly to get a better view of Roxas', hoping that his friend would answer him right away. When his friend suddenly dropped to his knees, groaning and crying out in pain, it was natural Sora would be panicked over his bad state.

 

"Organization XIII..." Roxas said without thought, his voice at normal level. It surprised him that he responded so quickly, but it was the pictures that were occupying his worries and thoughts. "Axel..."

Riku froze at the words, tensing immediately. He still didn't understand... What triggered those names?

 

Sora arched a brow in confusion. Where was this coming from. Especially... "Axel?" he repeated, his voice showing a bit how lost he felt. He had met Axel on a few occasions--he had been with him when he faded away. In the end, he turned out to be a decent guy. But why was Roxas bringing him up now?

 

Roxas put his hands down on the ground in front of him, leaning on them as he stayed on the ground. "Me and him, we..." He trailed off, trying to sort out the mess in his head. What was going on?

Riku knelt down on one knee beside his two comrades, one arm atop his knee. "You what?" he asked with furrowed eyebrows, still lost. Of course, he had seen Roxas with Axel a few times in the past, so the mention of Axel did bring some tension.

 

Sora furrowed his brows, hearing Riku speak from behind him. If he hadn't asked, Sora would have. But since his best friend from his first home had said it, he would stay where he was and wait for an answer.

 

Roxas stared at the ground, his expression almost sad. "...I didn't stop it," he finally said. "I did what they told me to, collected hearts, and helped them get so close..." Kingdom Hearts. He'd gotten them so close to Kingdom Hearts. He had forgotten that part of his past, his days in the Organization. And now he was ashamed. How could he have done such a thing?

Riku blinked at Roxas's words, taking them in. He was just thinking that this had something to do with the Organization, with Roxas's past. And he was right.

 

It took a moment for Sora to fully process what Roxas was talking about. He really knew nothing about his friend's life with the Organization; in fact, he really didn't remember anything from the year that happened. But he knew enough about the Organization to fill in what Roxas had trailed off with. "...Kingdom Hearts," he said softly, a saddened expression crossing his face. He had come close to completing it for the Organization as well, and he hated that he had been used as their puppet for some time. Roxas, though, he was actually a part of the group, not knowing what he was doing, but still a part of it...

 

Roxas closed his eyes at the name, bowing his head slightly. How could he have been so clueless? Sure, he caught on, but not before it was nearly too late. He left the Organization for that reason, didn't he? But for some reason, he felt like there was more...

Riku stayed silent, this topic very serious. It felt a little dark given the circumstances. Roxas had been used for the Organization to get what they wanted, and he had been aware of that. That was why... Riku blinked once in confusion, his thought having dropped just like that. Why what? He couldn't remember for some reason.

 

Sora looked down at the ground, staying silent at this point. There really wasn't much to say; the Organization had been a strong, manipulative group, who used others to get what they wanted. Thankfully, they were no longer in existence. Technically Roxas was a member of the group before, but Sora never viewed him as being evil like they were. Roxas was his best friend, and a part of him. He could never hate his friend so deeply as to hold past sins against him.

 

"Who was I?" Roxas wondered aloud, speaking to himself more than anyone else. He stared at the ground with confused and hurt eyes, his eyebrows turned down. He had been so...evil and harmful. He helped the Organization take all those hearts captive, so they could have hearts themselves. He couldn't imagine that he could do such a thing, not now. But that was his past, and he really had done that. So what did that mean about him? "...Who am I?"

 

Sora furrowed his brow slightly, hearing his friend's questions. "Roxas. You're Roxas," he said simply. Why would Roxas be doubting himself? All because of his past deeds? A person should never define himself by his past in Sora's eyes--it just seemed wrong. That logic didn't sit well with him, and he wanted to get Roxas away from that line of thinking before he got too depressed or upset.

 

Roxas closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again, lifting his head to stare at the ground a foot in front of him. "But what does that mean?" he asked, turning his gaze to Sora. "A name can never really define a person. It's just what you call them." Roxas shook his head and stared at the rock beneath him again. But then again, his name was different in a very specific way...

 

Sora shook his head faintly, looking at his best friend. "I don't think that's true," he disagreed. "A lot is wrapped up in a name. It's just..." How was he going to say this? He understood in his heart that his name helped him find his identity in a lot of ways, but why was that? He left his own questions behind and moved forward, trying to help Roxas. "It's your identity. It represents what your heart is like--your identity."

 

Roxas sighed softly, still on his hands and knees against the rock. "From everything that I've seen lately...and remembered...my identity is different than what I originally thought," he said. The blond boy turned his eyes toward Sora, staring at him now. "R-O, X-A-S. 'Roxas,' a name that came from somebody else's. The rearrangement of letters and an addition of an X." Roxas frowned slightly. "Your name. And the letters were switched and the X was added because I joined the Organization when Xemnas found me."

Riku observed the scene before him with interested eyes. Roxas must have remembered everything involving his time in the Organization, while Sora was asleep. And he seemed to be realizing the truth--that he was a Nobody, Sora's Nobody, and he had been a member of an organization that behaved selfishly to gain their own hearts.