Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Since the three of them had already fought off the Heartless in this area, Sora wasn't overly concerned with any more appearing. Actually, he wasn't concerned at all--he wasn't thinking about anything deeply, just in a daze for some unexplainable reason. He was unaware of a few Neoshadows rising up out of the ground a few steps behind him and to the sides. That alone was unusual; his senses in battle were normally better than average. He kept the blade at his side and headed forward, a Neoshadow leaping at him from behind.

 

Roxas's eyes widened immediately once he saw the black creatures, and that his Somebody wasn't reacting. "Sora!" he cried, flinging Oblivion at the Neoshadow that had leapt for his friend's unprotected back. He watched as the Heartless disappeared in a black mist, and he instantly summoned his blade back to him as he darted for one of the other enemies behind Sora.

Riku had noticed the creatures when Roxas did, but the blond reacted before he could pull back his blade. It was true--Roxas's abilities had improved since the memories returned. Riku let out a cry as he threw his body toward one of the Neoshadows near the sides, swiping his blade at it.

 

Sora whirled around at the cry, seeing the Neoshadow go up in smoke. His heartbeat quickened; if Roxas hadn't taken care of that one, it would have gotten him pretty badly. He snapped out of his thoughts and spun around to another Neoshadow, blocking its attack with his raised Keyblade.

 

Roxas used the advantage his two Keyblades gave him and quickly defeated the single Neoshadow, immediately moving on to the one that was nearby and launched itself at him. With a grunt he swung his blades and slashed at it, taking it out in a few hits.

Riku attacked the Heartless with just as much determination as he had in the previous area. The Heartless really were getting stronger, and the fact that Sora's attention wasn't the best was becoming a problem. He needed to focus, and Riku wasn't really sure why he wasn't.

 

After a few moments of struggling, Sora finally got the Neoshadow to back off. He grunted and threw his blade at the stunned creature, destroying it with that one blow. He sensed one more coming up behind him and he dodge-rolled out of the way, knowing he wouldn't have been able to summon his blade back quickly enough.

 

Roxas took care of the Neoshadow before moving onto one more, sensing that this was the last one near him. He slashed at it angrily, beginning to hate these things more and more with every passing day. Good thing they stuck with Riku and convinced him to let them come along; the silver-haired teen wouldn't be able to handle this by himself.

Riku brought Way to Dawn down on the enemy once more before it disappeared, and moved on to one other nearby. He leaped at it, a cry leaving his lips as he slashed down on it. Yup, the Heartless were stronger. They needed to settle things before they got worse, but he knew that was going to take time.

 

Sora summoned his Keyblade back into his hand and spun back around, but the Neoshadow was gone. He arched a brow in confusion, but then he noticed a black goo by his feet. He took two steps back in surprise, the Neoshadow popping out of the ground as soon as he was out of the way. The Heartless jumped at him and he lifted his Keyblade in defense.

 

A few grunts and cries left Roxas as he finished off his target. It disappeared in a black mist as Roxas breathed heavily from combat. He turned around at the sounds of battle, straightening as his grip on his Keyblades tightened in response to the danger. He located Riku, who was occupied by his own Heartless, and then found Sora, who was also dealing with a Neoshadow. Roxas hesitated slightly, wanting to help, but it seemed like everything was under control for the most part.

Riku swiped at the Heartless, but it dodged and slid around him. He winced as it scratched him and whirled around, blade swinging. Satisfaction flowed through him when he made contact, and he continued the assault. Riku grunted as he swung at the Neoshadow a few more times, before it finally disappeared.

 

The Neoshadow bounced of the Keyblade at first, but it retaliated more quickly than Sora could have guessed. A week ago he could have blocked the attack, but not now. His eyes widened slightly as he rolled out of the way, the Heartless scratching at his arm. He winced and turned his head, seeing the Neoshadow readying itself to attack again.

 

Roxas ran forward a few steps toward Sora, but then stopped again. He didn't know how Sora would react if he killed the Heartless for him; one time he got pretty angry, claiming he could've handled it. Something had been off about him lately, and Roxas realized it during that battle and over the last week. Things regarding Sora were...strange and unclear. It was like he wasn't all there, but then again, Roxas couldn't say anything; he had been like that once himself, and that phase had ended just a week ago.

 

Sora turned around and swiped at the Heartless when it jumped at him, killing it one second before it would have hurt him. He saw the Neoshadow go up in smoke, the heart it was carrying going up into the sky. The next thing he noticed was the silence around him; apparently he had been the last one to finish off his Heartless. But lately, that hadn't been unusual.

 

Roxas's grip on his blades remained tight, despite the fact that the last Heartless had been defeated. "You okay?" he asked, his voice hard with the adrenaline and seriousness of what had just ended. Still, he was worried for Sora.

Riku took a more relaxed stance now that the enemies were gone, turning to the side a little to look over at his companions. It looked like everyone was okay, even though he knew some things were far from it.

 

Sora turned his body to face Roxas, his eyes landing on his Nobody. "I'm fine," he said shortly, his voice hard. Then again, it was the same tone he had been using the past week on the rare occasions he spoke. At that time, though, he didn't really know how he could change things. In fact, he wasn't sure if he wanted to. They were all getting along. Barely, but they were getting closer to defeating the Heartless. But he wasn't any closer to getting the answers he sought, and that frustrated him almost as much as fighting these days.

 

Roxas nodded, recognizing Sora's tone. It wasn't anything new to him. At first it had been, because Sora never really spoke like that before. Now that he did, if he even spoke to them, it was becoming familiar. Roxas had spoken like that during his little phase too, at least sometimes when he was extremely aggravated. He guessed that was Sora's problem, but he wasn't sure why.

Riku turned a little more to face Sora and Roxas completely. "The Heartless here have definitely gotten stronger. It's only been a month," he started, eyes narrowed in a strict manner. "The King wasn't off with his prediction. We have to keep moving, or it'll only get worse."

 

Sora looked over at Riku, avoiding Roxas' gaze. He felt guilty for his tone of voice now, since it was obviously affecting his best friend. Maybe it was affecting Riku too, but Riku had a way of keeping his thoughts and emotions to himself. He heard his friend's words and he nodded slightly, his thoughts going onto what he was referring to. Right, defeating the Heartless. Gotta focus on that. At the same time, though, he knew he wouldn't be able to do that.

 

Roxas briefly glanced at Riku when he had spoken, but otherwise looked around the area they were in. He knew this place well by now, with the help of his memories, and knew it was best to check every corner. Regardless, he looked back down at his comrades, but focused mostly on Sora, knowing he would get angry if he so much as looked at Riku.

Riku glanced at the archway to the next area. "Let's go," he said, already starting toward other section of town. He was a good distance away, on the opposite side of the area from Roxas and closer to Sora. Riku made his way across the now silent part of Agrabah and passed Sora, nodding to him once before only slightly glancing at Roxas. He then continued on, heading under the arch to get to the other area.

 

Sora looked back over at Roxas when Riku headed over, and he felt even more guilt for his shortness. As he started forward, he spoke quietly to Roxas when he walked by. "Sorry," he muttered. "I don't mean to sound harsh." He kept moving forward without waiting for a response, heading toward the arch Riku had gone to.

 

Roxas looked after Sora for a few short seconds. He was slightly surprised; Sora had barely spoken to him over the past week. That small apology had been the most his Somebody had said to him within the last few days, even if Roxas hadn't really thought much of Sora's tone in the first place. So Sora was tense and he let it slip. So what? Roxas had been worse. The blond gripped his Keyblades and walked on after the other two, passing under the shade of the arch.

 

Sora looked down at the ground as he walked, his Keyblade loosely in his right hand. He didn't know what his deal was in battle, he was just...slipping up. He didn't see how his need for answers was really affecting him in that way, though he could see why he wasn't speaking much. He didn't want his friends to know he was thinking about Castle Oblivion. Or what it meant to him. Soon, though, he was sure somebody would question him. Possibly in the next few minutes, if things proved to be calm enough for them to have a discussion. That was something he definitely wasn't looking forward to.

 

Riku walked out from under the shade of the passage and ahead into the area, lifting his gaze to look around. It was quiet, but the whole city had been silent since they arrived; it was nothing new. He stopped in the middle of the space and turned, looking up at the higher levels to see if he could catch sight of anything. Nothing really stood out to him.

Roxas followed behind Sora, looking at him and not being able to help but question what was going on. Usually Sora was very determined and such during the journey, much like he had been for the two months they had been wiping out Heartless. But something was different now. Of course, things had been different from day one, at least for Roxas. Still though, he was curious as to what was bothering Sora, and if he would even talk about it.