Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora's lips parted at the words the two other teens spoke, as if he were going to say something. If you hate this place so much, why don't you both just go home? He shook his head slightly, thinking better than to say something that foolish. They had come for him and found him at a bad time; they wouldn't leave him now, even if he asked. And he would need their help to fight through the rest of the castle. Even if it did only bring pain, he needed to finish what he started.

 

"Of course," Riku started, turning beside the stairs and looking up. "If someone's will is strong enough, they won't stop because of the brutality of this place. They'll only keep experiencing it until they find what they're looking for." His eyes set on Sora as he spoke, the frown still in place on his lips. Regardless, he couldn't say he hadn't done the same in the past. The last time he was here, he'd pushed through, just as Sora had.

 

Sora looked up briefly at Riku's words, but then looked back down at the ground. After everything he had said back in Agrabah, he couldn't believe that Riku wasn't ordering him to turn around and leave this place so they could finish their mission. Actually, he couldn't believe that Riku was understanding at all, considering the memory he had just received on this floor. Riku...are we friends?

 

Roxas looked over at Riku, seeing the hatred in his eyes. He wasn't sure if that was directed at Sora or regarded the place they were in. Didn't matter, because this place obviously had a negative impact on everyone. Even Roxas was beginning to get angry at what happened here, now and in the past.

Riku rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "There's no doubt in my mind that if I had the choice whether to come back, I wouldn't." His voice was tight, the anger evident in his tone. The memories here were haunting, and because he even caught a glimpse of them while in Castle Oblivion, his stomach was twisting, something that hardly happened to Riku.

 

Sora gritted his teeth, the sadness being replaced by anger at Riku's words. "I didn't ask you to come," he stated, voice tense. "If you hate this place so much, then turn around and go home." He headed forward, toward the stairs, finally looking at Riku as he came closer to him. "Don't take your anger out on me because I wanted to know what this place did to me."

 

Riku rolled his eyes. "Oh, grow up, Sora. Not everything is about you," the older boy spat. "I'm not just angry at you. You might not remember right now, but this place wasn't good to me either." He summoned Way to Dawn away and frowned at Sora. "I may be angry that you ran off and thought you could handle this on your own, but I do understand why you're here. If you would actually think for once, you'd realize that." Riku looked steadily into the eyes of his best friend.

 

Sora ground his teeth, Riku's words infuriating him. This was pretty much the same Riku he had in the memory of the castle, who spoke as if he knew everything. "Namine's not the only one sick of looking at you...so am I!" Riku had said. Hmph. Looks like nothing changed. He glared at him, but otherwise stayed silent. He wasn't sure if he should be angry or hurt, so he felt a combination of the two emotions at that time.

 

Riku brought a hand to his forehead. "I know how determined you can be, Sora, but sometimes you have to think before you pursue something like this. It's nearly impossible to go through this kind of thing on your own, especially in Castle Oblivion."

"I went through the process of gaining back my memories by myself," Roxas added. "It takes a lot out of you. You're making a mistake by doing this alone." He looked at his Somebody with stern eyes, insisting the situation greatly.

 

I made through eight floors by myself and was doing fine, Sora thought, taking offense to Riku's words. "So even after you say it's not all about me, you're still making it centered around what I'm going through," he said, referring to the fact that they were now discussing his mental state. Riku needed to make up his mind; was he going to put aside his own prejudices and stand by Sora or was he going to be a crybaby? At that moment, Sora didn't care that Riku had a bad past in this place. Sora had at least one bad moment with Riku here, not that he seemed to care, since he didn't bring it up. Apparently it wasn't important to him, but to Sora, it meant everything.

 

Riku fought to roll his eyes again. "I was just saying," he replied coolly. "Don't get so defensive. Besides, you're half the reason why I'm upset. Not entirely, like I said before." Sora was definitely different, anybody could see that. But this place wasn't good on anyone. Not even someone from the Realm of Light. "Just because I mentioned you, that doesn't mean you're the biggest problem."

 

"Then what's your problem, Riku?" Sora asked coolly, finally summoning away the Keyblade. His hands were curled into fists at his side as he stared up at Riku. "Enlighten me, O Great One, on what's causing you to become a jerk in this place again." His voice was dripping with sarcasm, and he had said "again" on the end as a reference to the fight he and Riku had fought on this floor during their previous visit to Castle Oblivion.

 

Riku arched an eyebrow, at both Sora's tone and namecalling and his last words. "Again? What're you talking about?" he asked, becoming confused now. What was Sora referring to? He never fought with him here, not on these floors. Zexion had pulled a little trick on him in the past involving an illusion, but that was it. Sora was never there. How could he know about that?

Roxas looked from one boy to the other, a little shocked at Sora's behavior, much like Riku was. Now he was for sure that this place impacted negatively on everyone, regardless of who they were.

 

"Hmph. Forgot it, huh?" Sora asked rhetorically, shaking his head. "You sure you're not the one who lost memories here, Riku?" Actually, he was surprised. It was an important event...Could Riku seriously not recall what happened here? He found it a bit hard to believe.

 

"I'm serious, Sora," Riku said, frowning at his friend. His eyebrows began to furrow. "What are you talking about?" His voice was low, the boy becoming defensive at the accusations being thrown at him.

Roxas was just as confused as Riku. He had no idea what was going on here. After all, he could never be here in the first place, and Riku had only given a brief summary of this place.

 

Sora looked down slightly, the memories of what happened here making his head ache. "Right here, on this floor, you showed up," Sora informed him quietly. "You picked a fight with me and insulted me every chance you got. Then when I beat you in a fight, you ran off." He didn't like that he had to give Riku a recap of this; how could he have forgotten?

 

Riku shook his head as he stared down at Sora. "Your memories must be wrong. That wasn't me," he said calmly, trying to figure out what exactly Sora was talking about. Riku had been stuck in the basement most of the time he was even in this place. He'd never even seen Sora until he was asleep.

 

Sora looked back up at Riku, a defensive look crossing his expression. "My memories may be messed up, but I know I'm not regaining faulty memories. Not about this. I know I fought you." He looked like Riku, had the same voice, and the same fighting style. Nobody else could have pulled that off.

 

"I know you're mad, Sora, but that's no reason to accuse me of trying to kill you," Riku said, glaring at Sora. "If there's anyone you should be mad at, it should be your Nobody's Organization friends." He motioned behind Sora toward Roxas when he said this, earning a glare from the blond. "This place may play with memories, but I remember that I wasn't here with you." But what was Sora even talking about then?

 

"I have enough anger to cover the Organization and you, so don't worry about that," Sora said tensely. He also didn't like that Roxas had been brought up in this, so he let that drop without adding any comment onto the motion. "I told you I fought you here. And since I'm the one regaining my memories right now, shouldn't that mean that I'm the more reliable one?"

 

"I'm the one who kept mine," Riku stated sternly. "I know a little more than you think." All he had gone through was a mess. He had to deal with the darkness that was haunting him, the Organization members in the basement, and--- Riku's eyes darted to the side instantly at the name that appeared in his head. Repliku.