Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora exhaled a breath through his nose, looking down at the ground when he heard Roxas' words and tone of voice. "Now's not the time to be picking a fight," he said softly, almost gently to his best friend. If those two summoned their blades again, there was no telling what could happen. Of course he would try to step in between them again, and possibly get injured worse. If that was what it took to break them up, though, he would do it in a heartbeat.

 

Roxas glanced at Sora. "I'm just telling the truth," he said with the same tone, his eyes finding Riku again. Even if I don't like it, he thought silently to himself.

Riku met Roxas's partial-glare and only let his sight rest back on the wall. "Sometimes the truth hurts, even if we're already numb from the pain," he said calmly. Roxas was right, though. Sometimes you had to go behind enemy lines in order to get the information you needed.

Roxas blinked and his eyes instantly fell to his connected hands. Nobodies weren't meant to feel anything anyway, but since he could, Riku's words reached him without bouncing off. He wasn't sure he could feel much of anything but anger and sorrow now, considering all he had gone through lately.

 

"I don't think numbness is an escape to the pain, though," Sora stated softly, looking down at the ground. "Numbness itself is a type of pain." Not being able to feel anything...it made you feel like something was wrong with you. Apathy and numbness weren't fun things to experience, and sometimes going through pain was better. At least that way you knew where you stood.

 

Riku laughed once without humor, lowering his chin and closing his eyes. "Guess I'm still feeling it then," he stated, voice low. Going through the darkness made you a different person, and Riku had thought that the numbness that resulted from the experience helped him move along with the rest of the pain. If Sora was right, then he couldn't avoid any of it. Sometimes it felt like he was returning to the darkness again, even though he didn't belong there anymore.

Roxas exhaled softly through his nose. This conversation was deep, and somewhat dark. After what he'd been through, he couldn't imagine much else to result from this journey other than that. Pain. After recollecting his memories, it's really been all he's known.

 

"At least when you have pain, you know what you're feeling," Sora continued softly, his eyes shutting. "That's better than being left without any answers concerning what you're feeling." Even if sometimes the pain was so bad that you wished for numbness, when you ended up in that state, most of the time you wanted to get out of it. Feeling pain was better than feeling nothing at all.

 

"Maybe," Riku agreed, his voice soft. "But sometimes when you've dealt with that much pain, you don't want to feel it again. You don't want to know what you're feeling because it only brings back bad memories." He believed he was one of those people, considering all he had done in the past.

Roxas stared blankly at his hands, frown on his face. "I guess that's where Nobodies--some Nobodies--get lucky. They don't feel anything," he said quietly, his voice grim. All he could think about at the mention was Axel, discussing emotions with him on the Clock Tower. Not much had come from that conversation except that Nobodies didn't have the power to feel anything, but only had memories of emotions.

 

"But then you can't feel happiness at all," Sora said softly, turning his head to look at Roxas. "No matter how bad the pain is, at least you can laugh and smile and feel alive when it's through." He couldn't imagine what it would be like to live without emotions...For him, it would be torture. He was the type of person who laughed or smiled whenever he got the chance, and the idea of not feeling happiness literally made his heart ache. Or maybe that was his wounds from earlier. He wasn't sure.

 

Riku smiled slightly, eyes still closed. "Now that's where you and Namine get lucky," he said, speaking to Roxas as well. "You two are different. You guys can actually experience emotions like a human being would. Your Organization friends, not so much."

Roxas winced at the name, his eyes closing. "I guess," he said, voice lower now. He and Namine were different, yes, and he was glad for that. They could exist on their own, and if they couldn't, he wouldn't be able to be with her the same way he was now. But what about now? After all of this?

 

Sora stayed silent, feeling the conversation move into a realm he didn't fully understand. He didn't know much about Nobodies, so he didn't have anything to add. Besides, his wounds were getting to him again. He released a long breath through his nose, gripping his leg more tightly with his hand.

 

"She had a tough time during that year too, you know," Riku went on without thought. "She was in a situation similar to yours, being a tool to the Organization in--"

"Castle Oblivion," Roxas interrupted. He sighed, opening his eyes to stare at his pants. "Also known as 'C.O.' I know. I think I was there once..." The memory was only a blur, but he was sure he had visited that place with Axel during his time in Organization XIII.

 

Sora started paying attention again when he recognized something. "Castle Oblivion?" he asked without thought, looking from Roxas to Riku. Why did that name sound so familiar to him? Surely he hadn't been there; he would remember something like that.

 

Riku lifted his head, leaning it toward Sora and finally looking at him. "There's a very long story behind that," he said then. The memories of what happened then, they made him furrow his eyebrows. That place had been awful to everyone in it.

Roxas continued to stare at his jeans, hearing Riku's words. It wasn't such a long story for him, considering he didn't remember anything of his visit there. He had fainted after just a minute there.

 

"You ever been there, Riku?" Sora asked, looking at his friend. He should have known the answer to that, but because he was missing some memories, he didn't recall anything that was connected to that place. In his heart, it seemed like a familiar place, but since he couldn't remember anything about it, he figured he had only heard of it and never been there.

 

Riku nodded once, turning his head. He stared ahead again, finding the same familiar spot on the wall. That time had definitely not been the best in his life, even though he did make a very important decision there: to keep the memories, so he could make sure Sora could wake up.

 

With Riku's silence, Sora turned his head and looked in front of him again. The answer was odd; maybe he had brought up a touchy subject. He knew at this point not to pursue any answers, because it felt as if everyone was already on edge. At that moment, though, he couldn't have asked even if he wanted to. He felt himself get dizzy, his sight fading momentarily as he lifted his right hand to the side of his head. In that temporary fog, he thought he saw a large castle. But when he blinked, the image disappeared. Strange.

 

"You know..." Roxas started quietly, blinking. He looked up at his two partners. "When I went to Castle Oblivion with Axel, I didn't really get to see any of it. I just...fainted." He shook his head as he furrowed his eyebrows. "But I don't know why..."

Riku glanced at Roxas and closed his eyes. He believed he knew the reason why, though he couldn't be sure what time within the year Roxas had actually gone into Castle Oblivion. If it was during Sora's vist, or sleep, he might have known the answer.

 

Sora nodded faintly, his sight returning after the haze disappeared. "That's....weird," he said, continuing to stare at the wall in front of him. He wasn't sure if he was referring to the words that Roxas was saying or at the thing he had just seen, but the statement seemed to fit both of them.

 

Roxas let his eyes fall to his hands as he shrugged. "I know. A lot of weird things happened then...I think," he said, ending on a hesitant note. Some things were a blur, but it didn't really matter. At least he got the memories back.

Riku sighed softly through his nose, not saying a word. Castle Oblivion was quite possibly the worst place he had ever been, other than the Dark Realm. That had been terrible. But the Castle was where he had conquered most of the darkness in his heart, only to have it conquer him when he had to get Roxas.

 

Sora nodded blankly, looking directly in front of him. He was still sort of disturbed by the image he had seen, but he knew he had to set it aside. It was only the picture of a castle; how significant could it be if he couldn't remember any more about it? He knew the answer: not significant at all.

 

Roxas's head drooped, the boy sighing. Everything was a mess now, everything involving his past and now the present. On top of that, he didn't feel like the same person anymore, not after uncovering so many secrets about himself and those around him.

Riku kept quiet, his eyes closed in the silence. He didn't want to think about it, so he didn't. Instead he let his thoughts go back to the past month and how much they had accomplished. They still had a long way to go, and so he focused on that.