Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora stopped when Riku stepped in front of him, blocking his exit. He glared at his friend, his eyes showing his anger. "Get out of the way, Riku," he said in a low tone of voice, hands in fists by his side. This discussion was over now; Riku and Roxas wouldn't get anything else out of him.

 

Riku shook his head, staring steadily at Sora. "No," he simply said. However, through that one word his voice came out strong and firm. Sora should have known that he and Roxas would be very concerned over this. Did he really think that they were just going to let him walk out on it?

Roxas stared at the back of Sora's head after seeing the look on Riku's face. Just by that expression Roxas discovered one thing: he and Riku were not going to let Sora leave it like this. The situation was too important to just walk away from. Roxas knew that by experience; he was already becoming someone darker and different. He didn't want the same to happen to Sora.

 

Sora glared at Riku for a moment longer, but then flexed his hand without thought. Instead of his regular Keyblade appearing, Oblivion rested in his hand. It fit his mood. He looked down at it briefly in doubt, but when he returned his gaze to Riku, his face showed his thoughts. I'll make you move if you don't step aside.

 

Riku glanced at the blade and then at Sora's face, easily being able to tell that his friend was willing to resort to using his weapon to make him move. The silver-haired teen balled his fists at his sides, fighting the urge to summon his own at the threat. But he knew Sora better than that; it wouldn't resort to that... Sora was changing, though. And that meant so could his reasoning.

Roxas's eyes widened slightly at the sight of his own blade. He looked from Sora's hand to the back of the brunet's spikey head, his eyebrows instantly furrowing. Roxas held his hand out and summoned Oblivion to him, a second passing before the weapon was in his hand. How could Sora want to resort to violence like this? If he was going to do that, Roxas would fight back; he wasn't going to get pushed around...not like in his past.

 

Sora's eyes widened faintly when his hand was curled around nothing but air. He looked down to his empty hand and then over at Roxas, seeing that he held the blade. He exhaled a heavy breath in frustration, both with himself and with Roxas. He knew that it was probably better he didn't have the blade, but he didn't like Roxas' interference. "Neat trick," he commented, nodding slightly to Oblivion. It probably wasn't easy to summon a blade out of somebody's hand, but Roxas had done just that.

 

Roxas didn't say anything, but kept his grip on his Keyblade. He stared at Sora with steady, firm blue eyes, seeing the anger and agitation in the identical pair opposite him. The whole situation with him not recollecting his memories was really having a heavy effect on Sora. Not that Roxas was really that surprised; he'd gone through it too, except his experience was opposite from his Somebody's.

 

"I have some neat tricks, too," Sora said, eyebrows furrowed as he stared at Roxas. He summoned the Kingdom Key into his grasp, not that he planned to use it for violence. He wasn't stupid enough to think that he could take on Riku and Roxas at the same time. No, he had something else in mind. Stop! he mentally cried, casting a spell that completely halted time and space around him.

 

Roxas's expression hadn't exactly changed at the words or the summoning of the Kingdom Key to Sora's hand. He only had enough time to tighten his grip on Oblivion before time completely halted, and he was frozen.

 

Sora turned around to see if Riku was frozen just as Roxas was. Sure enough, the spell had worked. However, since he was still standing in the doorway, Sora would need another way out. He spun around and took a few steps forward, climbing out the window and into the city. Then he ran toward his destination, knowing that the spell would only work for a limited amount of time.

 

Riku had been guarded when things began to heat up, especially with Roxas's ability to summon the Keyblade from Sora's hand. It was only after Sora had said that he had some "tricks" that Riku got cautious, and now he was frozen, but didn't know it. It was just like a pause in a movie; when the spell wore off, he would see that Sora was gone, and then would figure it out.

 

For Sora, it felt as if a few minutes went by as he raced through the empty, silent streets. No Heartless appeared, for since time was stopped, they couldn't come out. But that would change soon enough. He hurried to the Gummi Ships, Riku's still being there beside his and Roxas'. It had been left there since they day they joined him, and now he was going to put it to use. He climbed into the ship and shut the door, turning it on without a problem. Then he went through the worlds and selected the one he desired to go to: Castle Oblivion. The launch sequence started and one second before the ship entered space, time in Agrabah began again.

 

Roxas blinked as soon as time began again, though it seemed as if nothing happened. He was still staring at the same spot, but his eyes widened when he realized the person he had been looking at was no longer there. "Wha--?" Roxas looked around frantically, Riku's words taking those from his thoughts.

"Where's Sora?" the silver-haired teen instantly said, once he realized the brunet was missing. His aquamarine eyes darted around the small shop, not one glimpse of Sora anywhere.

"I...I don't know," Roxas instantly replied, confusion heavy in his voice as he looked to his only comrade. His grip on Oblivion tightened. "...What happened?"

Riku stopped for a second, and it only took that long to register what had occurred. He brought his hand to his forehead and groaned angrily. "Stop spell," he hissed, eyes finding the Nobody across from him. "Sora casted it on us and made a break for it." Riku instantly summoned his Way to Dawn Keyblade to his hand, sight on the window. "We need to move."

Roxas didn't hesitate following Riku outside the shop, though he took the window unlike Riku, who used the door. Riku was already running toward the entrance area, and Roxas realized why the silver-haired teen summoned his blade to his hand and why he himself kept his; Heartless appeared in front of them just outside the Palace Gates area. Roxas slashed through them quickly, as well as Riku, before racing through the town.

 

Sora blinked when the view he had in front of him changed. First, he saw the stars fly by, but then he saw a place enter his sight. Even from a distance, he could see that this was the place he had seen in his vision back at Pride Rock. Castle Oblivion. He manually took the controls and flew the ship around the back of the building, hoping it would be well hidden there. Once it was grounded, he unbuckled himself and rose to his feet, silently exiting the ship. He was here for a purpose--to discover what he lost, and how he could get it back. He didn't know how it would happen, but he wouldn't leave this place without some answers.

 

It only took a few minutes before Riku and Roxas skidded to a stop outside Agrabah. Riku instantly frowned at the sight. "I knew it. He took the other Gummi ship." He'd had a hunch as soon as he realized Sora was gone that he wasn't in this world anymore.

Roxas summoned Oblivion away, not sensing the need for it any longer. He looked to his right, up at Riku. "Where would he need to go?" he asked, thinking back to what they had discussed in the shop. "He talked about lost memories and not being able to gain them back. Where would he need to go for that?"

Riku tensed, closing his eyes as the answer instantly came to him. "The place where he lost them," he declared, voice tight. "Castle Oblivion."

Roxas frowned at the name, recalling it. He'd gone there once with Axel, but hadn't gotten any farther than a few steps. He didn't even know what the place had been used for... "We should go. Take the other Gummi ship and follow him," he suggested, the fighter inside him knowing instantly what to do. He saw Riku nod without a second thought and they both climbed into what was originally Roxas and Sora's ship from the start of all this. Riku typed in the coordinates and Roxas had enough time to buckle himself up before they left Agrabah.

 

In the few minutes that it took Roxas and Riku to get to the other Gummi Ship, Sora made it to the entrance. He'd have a head start--maybe he could get this done himself and always stay one step ahead of Roxas and Riku. Of course, that only mattered if they figured out that this was the place he journeyed to. He grunted at the thought and pushed the front door open, walking inside to a large white room. After he was in, he shut the door behind him and took a few steps in, sensing the familiarity. More than that, though, he sensed the memories returning to him. He winced and closed his eyes, a memory appearing to him.

 

Riku realized that it would take a few minutes to get to their destination, and he sat back as auto-pilot took over. He stared out the window, watching as stars flew past them. "So reckless," he muttered to himself, rubbing his face. Of course he was talking about Sora and his decision to go to Castle Oblivion alone.

"Sora, huh?" Roxas already knew what was running through Riku's mind, because it was going through his too. He had a frown set on his face as he leaned his chin into his palm, staring out the front window of the ship. Out of the corner of his eye, Roxas caught Riku turn his head slightly toward him at his words. But the blond didn't need a response. They were both thinking the same thing, so there wasn't much of a reason to confirm it.

 

The first thing in the memory was Sora spoke to Donald and Goofy. The two of them were discussing that Riku and the King were in this Castle. Somehow, they all just knew it. Actually, it was a bit spooky. But once they decided to move on, they had a moment of joking and then Goofy called to him. He summoned his blade and questioned who he was, but he only came closer to them in silence. Standing there now in Castle Oblivion, Sora winced. He knew now that the man was a part of the Organization, due to his coat. The man spoke to him, saying that he would find his dearest friends. He questioned him anxiously on Riku, but he didn't directly respond.

"If what you want...is to find him..." The man mysteriously lifted a hand, sending a great wind directly at him.

Sora grunted and brought up his Keyblade, standing up against the wind. The moment it disapeared, his eyes widened. The man in the cloak had turned translucent, and he had just walked right through him and then vanished. Sora swung at him, but he was gone. He whirled around and saw the cloaked man appear by one of the doors, and he rushed over. "What'd you do?!" The man spoke some more about an item he gave to Sora at that moment. It was nonsense to him, so he only listened to the words of his memory and didn't cling to them.

 

Riku shook his head, closing his eyes. "Same old Sora. Once he decides on something, there's no stopping him," he said, voice low. "Always been that way, always will be."

"You would think that he would be more cautious about C.O." Roxas spoke the name in code, just as the members of the Organization had back when he was with them. "Since he lost so much there, and since I couldn't even stay conscious while in one of the rooms, you'd think he would realize that it's just as dangerous." Roxas had no idea what had taken place there, but he was sure he was going to find out soon enough.

 

"Go, Sora," the man said to him, gesturing to the door behind him. "To lose and claim anew, or to claim anew only to lose..." He didn't finish the sentence, vanishing in the darkness that momentarily surrounded him as he teleported away.

All three of them stepped back in shock, silent for a moment. Sora was naturally the first to regain his composure. "Come on. Let's go."

The memory faded away, and Sora shook his head to clear his mind. "So, I have been here before," he said to nobody in particular. He opened his eyes and looked up at the door, the same one that he had just started towards in his memories. He didn't understand what the man meant by losing and claiming, but he was about to reclaim his lost memories. He nodded to himself and started forward to the door.

 

"The ones who occupied the Castle are no longer alive," Riku said, arms crossed as he looked over his shoulder at the Nobody. He sat in the pilot's seat, not worrying about the ship for the moment. "Do you remember who they were, Roxas?"

Roxas sat up straight, his hand coming down to sit on the armrest. "They were the Organization members... I remember that Axel was sent there, and so were Larxene, Marluxia, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion," he replied, looking at Riku. "Everyone but Axel never came back. They were terminated."

"Guess who defeated them?" Riku questioned, arching an eyebrow, which surely Roxas could see. He could tell by the blond's silence that he knew the answer. "That's right. Your Somebody did, all while he lost his memories." Not only was he losing his memories, but gaining new ones--fake ones, all created by the Nobody's lover.