Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora opened his mouth as if he were going to protest, but then he shut it again. He had to admit, he really was in no shape to fight Heartless today. Tomorrow, though, he would be back on his feet, whether he was completely healed or not. And the guys couldn't keep him from doing that. After all, the only way they could stop him was physical force, and they wouldn't risk hurting him.

 

Riku exited the cave, aware of Roxas's calm footsteps behind him. Good, so the Nobody was prepared. That would definitely help, considering he hadn't been much assistance as of late. But now that his memories were back, and after the way he fought him yesterday, Riku believed Roxas was going to fight differently today. And he was glad.

Roxas followed Riku outside and briefly glanced at the lionesses as he followed him down the descent of Pride Rock. This place was safe, the appearance of sleep surrounding the lions giving that hint off. He followed the silver-haired teen outside the sanctuary, already mentally and physically prepared to fight.

 

The day dragged on and on for Sora. He had slept through a lot of it, but when he was awake, it was very boring. Riku had told him to stay there and recover, but he was too anxious to get back on his feet to obey the order. Now in the afternoon, Sora set a hand on the ground and started to push himself up off the cave floor. He would start by walking around to see how he felt and then he could judge exactly what kind of shape he was in.

 

Riku ran forward, Keyblade in his grasp as he charged at the group of Heartless before him. With a battlecry he swung and saw a Shadow disappear in a black mist. He continued to swing and strike at the enemies. He'd been doing this for most of the day, alongside Roxas, who had done better considerably.

Roxas released a cry as he used all his strength into taking down an airborne enemy, performing an air combo. Ever since he got his memories back, he'd felt a newfound strength within him. He immediately knew that it was because a side of him was missing, a more experienced side. It gave him more power, and he realized that his fighting style had changed slightly--he had the power to peform different abilities, ones he hadn't had the day before.

 

Once he was fully upright, Sora set a hand against the wall. The pain wasn't too bad--that was something he was grateful for. He took a few steps forward, the movements being a bit wobley because he had been sitting for such a long time. He felt the pain coming through in his leg, but he ignored it to the best of his ability, heading toward the cave entrance.

 

Riku continued his assault, striking the Heartless with his Keyblade relentlessly. After a moment, he hit a Heartless straight into another, ridding them both of existence. He then turned his sight to the Heartless behind him, immediately taking action.

Roxas did a front flip, striking the airborne enemy before landing, hearing the familiar sound of when the heart inside a Heartless was released. Roxas turned and flung Oblivion and Oathkeeper at two larger Heartless, instantly running forward once his blades struck them. He summoned his weapons to him and leaped at the Heartless, determined to destroy them.

 

Sora winced when the sunlight reached him; he didn't know that the sun would be that low in the sky. He must have slept more than he thought. He exhaled a breath and pressed forward, a hand coming to his thigh as the pain intensified. It wasn't enough to make him fall down to get the pressure off of it, but at the rate the pain was escalating, he felt as if his leg could give out.

 

After a few minutes, the sounds of battle surrounding Riku began to quiet. He panted somewhat from the energy he put into his tactics and attacks, turning to see Roxas defeat a larger Heartless. The blond boy turned to him and Riku spoke. "That the last of 'em?" he asked.

Roxas nodded, panting. "Last one," he said with a short breath. "Should we head back?" When he saw Riku nodded he summoned Oblivion and Oathkeeper away, already starting for Pride Rock. He wasn't exactly tired, considering he had a lot of energy, but he did want to see how Sora was doing. They'd been gone all day, when Riku said they'd only be gone for a couple hours.

 

Sora walked a few more steps forward, seeing the lionesses casually strolling the area. Only one took notice of him--the same one that had been especially concerned about him yesterday. He smiled weakly and took another step forward, wincing faintly at the pain in his leg.

 

Riku followed a step behind Roxas, seeing Pride Rock in view now. They'd been walking for a few minutes in silence, and he was thinking about their next destination. He wasn't sure where they would go, because so far the Pride Lands were clear.

Roxas's hands were in light fists at his sides as he paced on, getting closer to Pride Rock. He wondered how Sora was doing, just sitting there in a cave, alone. Roxas knew that he would become terribly bored, so he was curious as to how Sora was handling it.

 

Sora stood in one place for a few minutes, keeping the pressure off his left leg. It hurt...a lot. It almost brought tears to his eyes, that's how bad it was. He was glad Riku and Roxas weren't around to see that; he always was the one who tried to tough it out with the terrible physical injuries. After a short while, he took a step forward, hoping he could walk off the pain.

 

Another minute of silence passed, and Riku found himself at the base of Pride Rock. He glanced around briefly, noticing that some lionesses were still roaming around leisurely or napping. Good, so there weren't any disturbances.

Roxas walked slightly ahead of Riku, already feeling the hard rock beneath his feet replace the dirt and grassy terrain of the Savannah. He glanced up and then to the side, only to do a double-take. His eyes widened as he paused, stopping for a second. "...Sora?" he questioned softly, only seeing the tip of his Somebody's spiky hair ahead.

 

The moment he took that first step, Sora knew he had made a mistake. He grunted softly and fell down on one knee, his right hand curling into a fist. The other hand found a lioness right beside him. He set his hand on her back as she watched him with intent eyes, helping to support him to he didn't fall forward. Once he was sure he wouldn't fall anymore, he shut his eyes and released a breath in frustration. His leg should have been better by now, but obviously it wasn't.

 

"What?" Riku instantly said, eyes widening. He walked a few brisk steps forward, passing Roxas and going up the incline slightly before stopping. There, just near the second incline, was his best friend. He instantly started toward him, his speed increasing into a fast jog.

Roxas's eyes widened for a second before he immediately followed Riku. He chased him up the incline, his eyes resting where Riku's had seconds before. He located Sora, on the ground. It didn't look good.

 

Sora ignored the sounds he heard, catching his breath. His fall had surprised him, but he wasn't hurt any worse than he had been before. He lowered his head slightly and kept his eyes shut, a frown on his lips. Without thought, he started to stroke the lioness beside him, silently thanking her for being present when she was needed.

 

Riku approached his friend quickly, immediately positioning himself in front of Sora. "Sora," he said, apparent surprise in his tone. He caught Roxas approach out of the corner of his eye, but he focused on trying to see Sora's face.

"You alright?" Roxas asked, immediately falling to one knee beside Sora and Riku. What was Sora doing, roaming around? Apparently he hadn't gotten very far...

 

Sora looked up at Riku and then over at Roxas, surprise apparent in his eyes. Wow, bad timing, he thought, grimacing faintly. "I'm okay," he said without thought, giving Roxas a faint nod. The answer had left him out of habit; whenever anybody ever asked if he was okay, that was his answer, whether it was true or not.

 

"What were you thinking?" Riku scolded, his voice showing his disapproval. "I told you to rest up." Even if they had been gone most of the day, that wasn't enough time for Sora to fully recover from his fall the day before.

Roxas had his hands on the ground, on his knees. He glanced from Riku to Sora, curious for his condition. What exactly had caused him to collapse like this?

 

Sora looked at Riku, seeing the frown on his lips and hearing his scolding tone of voice. He supposed he deserved it, but that didn't stop him from defending himself. "I've been resting all day," he stated. "Besides, I wanted to see if I could walk off what was rest of it." Apparently I couldn't, though, he thought, keeping those words to himself.

 

"That didn't do you much good," Riku said then, his eyebrows furrowed. True, the healing potion and spells may have worked to a degree, but they didn't completely restore Sora's health.

Roxas dismissed his own thought, putting Sora's actual condition first. "We should get you back to the cave," he suggested, concentrating on that. "You obviously need some more time to recover."