Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora caught Roxas' brief look, and he knew what he was thinking. But he could handle this fight, as long as the emotions of what he just saw didn't get to him and mess him up. Even if that were the case, he could at least defend himself. He blinked and lifted his Keyblade, seeing the Dusks starting toward them.

 

Roxas grasped his blades tightly and set one foot back as the Dusks started moving toward the three of them. He pulled his right arm back and released a cry as he flung Oblivion at the group of Nobodies.

Riku heard Roxas's cry and saw the action he took, and that was enough for the Dusks to move in faster. Riku pulled his arm back and called Dark Aura to him, instantly shooting off fireballs at the enemies.

 

Sora noticed one of the Dusks that was impacted by Riku's blast was flung off towards the side, to his left. He grunted softly and ran past Riku, his blade slashing through the Nobody when he was within striking rang.

 

Roxas didn't hesitate running into the fray as Oblivion knocked back a few Dusks, but he summoned it back and began swinging away at the foes. Underneath all the adrenaline and power, he felt it was ironic that he was fighting things that used to help him and the Organization. Didn't matter now, he supposed.

Riku continued to shoot Dark Aura at the Dusks, knowledgeable about how the enemies liked being in close range.

 

Sora finished off his first Dusk, then sensing another presence behind him the moment it was done. He looked over his shoulder and then pulled a reversal when the Dusk tried to hit him. He successfully dodged it and swiped at the Nobody's back, stunning it. However, then he sensed more enemies toward him, more than he could block at once. Unless... "Fire!" he cried, pointing his blade at the ground as he cast the spell. All the enemies near him were sent back, critically injured or gone entirely.

 

Roxas swung relentlessly at the Dusks that crowded him, realizing that more were on this floor than the last. He slashed at them with both of his Keyblades, battle cries leaving his throat. The enemies started to go down one by one, but it was still a fight.

 

Sora set his footing and focused, thinking that now was the time to try something new. The Nobodies he knocked back were all in a line, so it was the perfect set-up. He felt his blade get warmer with magic, and then it began to glow with the tint of a lightning spell. He smirked slightly and chucked it at them, the electrified Keyblade going through the Dusks once before acting as a boomerang and coming back through them again and into his hand. That took out a lot of Nobodies in the field.

 

"Take that!" Roxas cried, voice harsh with the holler as he came crashing down on a few Nobodies. He briefly noticed that their numbers had dwindled considerably in the last few minutes.

Riku swung at one of the Dusks that was attempting to hit at him with his arms. The boy blocked it, sending it off balance, and immediately struck it as hard as the could. It fell back to the ground but it didn't stop him from repeatedly striking it until it was gone.

 

Sora suddenly felt something strike him in the back and he let out a grunt at the pain, stepping forward a bit to recover. He ignored the pain and exhaustion that suddenly wanted to overtake him and spun around, lifting his Keyblade in preparation to fight off the pesky Dusk.

 

Roxas relentlessly continued his assault, moving onto the next target once the other was defeated. He was becoming drained from the battles this place provoked. He swung at the Dusk in front of him before quickly turning to one that had tried to attack him from the side. Hopefully this would end soon.

Riku leapt back in order to avoid one Dusk's swipe, landing flat on his feet. He then brought back his arm and shot out Dark Aura again, hitting it a few times before the enemy disappeared. One down, more to go.

 

Sora was surprised when the Dusk charged forward toward him. He let out a battle cry as he swung at the Nobody, but it pulled a reversal on him instead, using its sharp "hands" to slash at his back relentlessly. Sora winced, feeling himself being pushed forward with each slash. Back off! he mentally shouted, unable to escape the combo that was being used against him.

 

Riku watched as Roxas took care of his group of enemies, and so he decided in the short seconds he had without battle that he would see how Sora was holding up. When he saw Sora's situation, he didn't give his next action much thought, but made sure his aim was correct this time. Riku shot three Dark Aura fireballs at the Dusk that was attacking Sora's back, a short grunt leaving him.

 

Sora rolled out of the way the moment the Dusk stopped attacking, the Nobody being hindered by Riku's attack. Sora brought up his blade and slashed through the enemy, the Dusk finally fading out of existence. He exhaled a breath in pain but turned his head to give Riku a slight nod of gratitude before he turned his attention back to the battle and threw his Keyblade at a group of Nobodies.

 

Riku acknowledged Sora's gesture with a nod of his own and returned to fighting the Dusks, which seemed like endless swarms. However, he noticed that they were almost completely defeated. There were only small groups left.

 

Sora's Keyblade impacted a group and then reappeared in his hand a moment before he charged forward, a battle cry leaving his lips. It was almost over; once he was done with this group, it would be nearly complete. He swung through most of them with ease, defeating them in only a few blows.

 

Roxas heard aggravated cries leave his lips every time he struck one of the enemies, becoming annoyed. This Castle was eerie, and somehow it must have known that the three of them were together, because the enemies were much more difficult and in much larger numbers than that last few floors. Regardless, he swung at them angrily, defeating a few of them quickly. It was when he saw fireballs and a Keyblade soar by that the rest were defeated.

Riku put his arm down, exhaling softly in relief when the last of the Dusks were defeated. He summoned Way to Dawn back to him, his form still straight from the adrenaline coursing through his body. "Everyone alright?" he asked in the silence that followed the battle, his eyes traveling from Roxas to Sora.

 

Sora lowered his head to the ground as he silently cast a cure spell, healing leaves appearing over his head as well as Riku's and Roxas'. Only when the spell was done did he answer Riku's question. "Yeah," he said, looking up and briefly glancing at Riku and then at Roxas. He couldn't look at Riku, knowing all the awful things he had said to Sora in his memory.

 

Roxas nodded as well, feeling the cooling yet warm sensation of a cure spell spill over him. He stood up straight and held Oblivion and Oathkeeper in his grasp. "That was the worst ambush we've had," he said, bringing up one of his arms to wipe at the sweat on his forehead.

Riku frowned and looked around the room. "This place has a way of bringing out the worst, whether in people or along the lines of battle," he said, shaking his head. "Can't be too careful." He would know, of course. And so would Sora now.

 

Sora nodded slightly, eyes wandering to the stairs that led to the next floor. What would await him there? More bad memories involving Riku? He wasn't sure if he wanted to know. In one way, he just wanted to leave and never come back. But there was more to this story than just the hurt he had experienced with Riku. He needed to understand why Namine had appeared in his memories like that, why she had been in the place of Kairi. It didn't sit well with him.

 

Roxas let his eyes drift around the room. "Well, I can't say I'm too happy to be here," he admitted. "I'm not sure if this is better or worse than the last time I was here." He absently looked over at Sora, recalling that the reason he couldn't stay in the Castle was because he was so close to Sora.

"Neither, most likely," Riku said, his voice strict as he started toward the stairs. "Nothing good comes from this place. It only brings pain." His eyes were set on the floor, a frown against his lips. Memories were destroyed here, replaced by lies and darkness. That's all this place was.