Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora raced into the next room, pausing at the memory that flashed before his eyes. He was speaking to Riku about something, like they were friends. It was an odd change to see him being kind. But then, things around them changed. Something was amiss, and Riku insisted he take care of "her". Namine? That was who Sora thought of in the past, for some reason. It still didn't make sense to him how he used to feel so strongly for her. But maybe he'd find the answer in the near future. That was what he was feeling in his heart.

 

"Hey," Riku said, voice slightly weak. He saw Roxas turn his head toward him and he looked up at him. "How much magic do you have left in you?" After all the battles, he wasn't sure there had been a time when they could all recover completely.

Roxas blinked, thinking for that instant. "Enough," he said seriously, eyebrows slightly furrowed. "Why?"

"Mind casting a Cure spell?" Riku asked, clutching at one of his sides. What did Sora do? He couldn't wrap his mind around how much power Sora had gained here.

"'Kay." Roxas stood up and summoned one of his blades to his hand. He lifted it in the air, both of his hands wrapped around the hilt. He silently called the magic of healing to him, and then he heard the light twinkling of the spell. Opening his eyes, he saw the green leaves over Riku's head and the look of relief wash over the older teen's face.

 

Sora shook his head and ran off, ignoring the thoughts he had of his and Riku's friendship. He didn't want to worry about it now. Once everything in his head was straightened out, then he could ponder over it. He went through another two rooms, not fighting off any of the Heartless. They didn't concern him; the only thing he wanted now were his memories. And he wouldn't stop until he got them.

 

Riku instantly felt some of his energy and strength come back to him. "Thanks," he breathed, eyes opening. He saw Roxas nod his head in response and Riku began to push himself up. He was still in a little bit of pain, but he didn't want to waste any more time; he'd go on without full health. "We need to go after him," he said, feeling like he was back on the first floor again, and chasing after Sora from the beginning.

Roxas nodded. In that moment, Sora's words replayed in his mind. "He hasn't been honest with me. He's hiding something from me. And I'm going to find out what it is." Thing was, what was Riku even hiding? Roxas was completely lost, but it was easy to lose a lot of things in this Castle.

 

Sora entered one more room in that floor, memories flooding to him. He clutched his head and sank down to one knee, recalling that stormy night. In this case, though, it was Namine standing with him, telling him that she wasn't the one he really loved. His younger self took out his good luck charm and it changed from Namine's star into Kairi's talisman. His younger self was surprised with it, but currently, Sora was not. He had known all along that everything with Namine had been a fabrication. But he had not yet discovered why this happened to him. He got off his knee and exited the room, running toward the exit. He'd find out soon enough.

 

Roxas summoned his other blade to him and looked toward the door. He took a deep breath and exhaled. "Final floor," he declared, though it wasn't as a question, even when Riku nodded. Regardless, the Nobody paced quickly toward the stairs, hearing Riku's footsteps behind him.

Riku gripped Way to Dawn tightly, thinking of all that had occurred in this Castle. Both in the past and in the present. It was awful, but it was worth it. Sora was his best friend, and even though he wasn't happy with the brunet's decision, Riku still came to Castle Oblivion to help. Sora obviously didn't see that behind all the anger and determination, which was obvious since he had fought him and taken off. Again. Riku followed Roxas up the stairs and through the door, the familiar bright light blinding him.

 

Sora ran out of Destiny Islands, a familiar bright light following him out. He only made it a few steps before a memory made him come to a dead stop. Namine was in front of him, in his memories. They discussed Kairi, though her name didn't come up in the conversation. It hurt Sora that he couldn't remember her name at that time; how had he forgotten her? And he asked Namine that, but she was interrupted by another person who suddenly showed up: Riku.

 

Roxas recognized the place as soon as they entered. It was Sora's old home, Destiny Islands. "Why are we here?" he asked, hearing the door close behind him. He turned his head to follow Riku as he passed him by, walking a few steps forward before stopping.

"This was the world that Sora held true to his heart," Riku said matter of factly. He was slightly stiff when they walked into this world, but he had to let it go. Yeah, he missed home, but things were different now; he had to fight. Riku turned his head to look over his shoulder. "Let's move. We don't have much time. I'm not sure what will happen to Sora if he reaches the other side of the door." When he saw the nod from Roxas, he started forward, Keyblade in hand and ready for the Heartless that rose out of the ground just a few feet away.

 

"Let me explain this," Riku said sternly, coming out from behind Namine. "Plain and simple. Your memory is a train wreck..." He took a moment to say that he was the one who was supposed to protect Namine, not Sora. What he said next was what really got to Sora. "You and your messed up memories are always in the way, Sora!!"

Sora wasn't surprised when Riku engaged him in a fourth fight. This one, just like the other ones, turned out the same, with Sora as the victor. This time, though, Sora ran over to Riku right after he was defeated, seeing that he looked wounded. "Riku!"

"Want some more?!" Riku growled, bringing up his hand and sending a dark blast at Sora. Sora cried out when the move was performed, sending him flying. He landed hard on his back, which was pleasant for Riku to see. He ignored Namine crying out to the brunet and walked forward, Keyblade in his hand.

Sora struggled to sit himself up, seeing Riku right in front of him. "Riku..."

"Looks like I win," Riku said. Namine cried out in the background, but again, he ignored her, despite the fact she was calling out for him to stop. "You are through!" He heard Namine cry out to him one more time and then all of a sudden, everything was just black.

Sora's eyes widened, seeing Riku collapse in front of him. "Riku? Riku?!" he looked to Namine. "What did you do? What did you do to him?!"

Sora groaned at the memory, sinking down to one knee in the middle of the room. Riku...Riku...what happened? He didn't have to wait for an answer, though, as the memory in his head continued to play.

 

Riku worked his way through the Heartless in his home world, though it wasn't really his world at all. It was a fake, stolen from the memories in Sora's heart. The Heartless here were stronger, it was easy to see that. And as he fought his way through the familiar parts of the Island, he didn't see any sign of Sora anywhere. It worried him a little, because once Sora reached the 13th Floor, something bad could happen.

 

Before Namine could answer Sora's question, a dark portal appeared on the other side of the room. Sora winced from his position on the ground, hearing Larxene speaking to him, saying that Namine smashed Riku's heart. "Then...Then what's gonna happen to Riku?!"

Larxene laughed evilly. "Oh, you're so much fun to watch. If it's Riku you're worried about, then don't, because Riku was never really here." She said it in the same tone of voice, but Sora didn't doubt the validity behind it, even if he didn't understand it.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked hurriedly, his thoughts in the present reflecting his emotions of the past. Riku...wasn't there? He winced and heard noises around him, but it wasn't from his memory. He snapped out of his daze and looked up, seeing Nobodies appear in the room in front of him. But to his surprise, they weren't Dusks. Three Beserkers. Sora winced, the memory wanting to overtake him again. But he couldn't let it...if he was helpless here, they would kill him. He grunted and forced himself to his feet, summoning his Keyblade. He couldn't keep the memory at bay for long, so he would need to work quickly to defeat his enemies.

 

Roxas found his determination giving him more power as he followed Riku through another room in the fake world. He wasn't struggling as much, and he was thinking that maybe it was a little odd considering the enemies here were much stronger than the other floors. Regardless, he found himself pinning it on the recollection of his memories. Just like what had obviously happened to Sora, new power came from remembering them, and he believed that was boosting his power.

 

A battle cry left Sora's lips as he jumped up into the air, Keyblade set so he could perform a vertical strike. But he wasn't prepared when a Beskerer lifted its hefty sword and swung it at his midsection, sending him flying back toward the door he came from. A sharp cry left his lips at the pain as he laid there. He got himself back up onto his hands and knees, but then he winced, both with the pain of the blow and the pain of the memory he was trying to keep inside. He groaned and shut his eyes, unable to hold it back any longer.

Sora missed out on part of the memory, and now he saw he had just gone in for an attack on Larxene. But she avoided him and then kicked him, sending him flying backwards much like what had just happened in reality.

"Hmm. Alright, have it your way then. I know it'll kill you to hear this, but I think I can live with that. That thing lying there is just a puppet that Vexen made as an experiment. No more than a toy. It's laughable, really. It called you a fake, but it was a fabrication all along."

"Not Riku...A fake?!" Sora asked, outraged. Riku wasn't there after all...his best friend wasn't there. That also meant that he wasn't the one their that was wounded. That was the only thing Sora was grateful for in that situation.

"Fake in every possible way," Larxene responded in a snobbish tone of voice. "It was only finished recently; how could it remember anything? You get it? It's memories with Namine were just planted, not real." While she had been speaking, Larxene picked up "Riku" by the neck and then threw him off to the side before continuing. "That means all this time its been picking fights with you over memories that were counterfeit, trumped up, and completely bogus. Isn't that the truth, Namine?"

While Larxene said a few words to Namine, Sora propped himself up a bit on the ground, too weak and injured to do more than that. "...Namine?"

 

This was taking longer than Riku thought. There were just too many Heartless here. He turned around to Roxas in the middle of a battle, a swarm of variations of Heartless scattered around them. "Roxas! We have to move!" he hollered.

"Okay!" Roxas called, swiping at a Neoshadow one more time before evading. He raced after Riku, who took off into a run away from the battle. Sora hadn't been anywhere. How did he get through all of this?

 

Sora listened as Larxene explained Namine's powers to create memories and insert herself into his mind. Sora gasped at the end, comprehending what was going on. "Then...my...memories...are all..."

"Oh! You do get it! Lies, lies, all lies. Just Namine's illusions, nothign more. Binding you in the chains of your memory was essential to our trap. It makes me tingle just to think how easily you were duped. So close to it; we were almost there. This was our only chance to turn the Keyblade Master into our puppet, but that traitor Axel used Namine to betray us!" Larxene summoned her weapon at that moment, fury evident in her eyes. "So now, I'm left with no choice but to eliminate you.

"You'll pay..." Sora threatened, setting his hands on the ground as he tried to force himself up. But he couldn't do it; he was too weak to move...too hurt by the powerful kick Larxene had performed a minute ago. He couldn't stand, let alone fight. He winced and looked up at one point, seeing that Namine got in Larxene's way, and now they were having a conversation.

"I should tell you that I'm in an extremely fowl mood," Larxene was saying darkly. She sent a charge through her weapons to prover her point, her face becoming even more fierce. "Thanks to you, all our plans are ruined!" She brought up a fist and smacked Namine hard, sending her across the room to where "Riku" was lying.

"Namine!" Sora cried out. He reached toward her but then had to set his hand back on the ground to balance himself, as he was on his hands and knees now.

"What's this? Are you upset? And you don't even actually know her!"

Sora and Larxene had a quick conversation about a promise Sora believed he made to Namine. It was fake, but it felt real enough to him, so he would keep it. This was the vow that he made verbally in front of Larxene.

"Hmph. You're such an idiot. There is no promise, and there never was. You're just delusional! Must you insist on being the hero?" Larxene glared down at him in disbelief and anger for a brief moment before she composed herself. "Whatever. If that's the way you want it, you're going down alone!" She brought back her weapon and prepared to attack him.

Sora groaned at the memory and the pain he felt in the real world. The Beserkers had just gotten right in front of him, side-by-side. The one that first hit him stood in the middle with its heft weapon raised to attack. Sora gripped his side with one hand as he sat there on his knees, the other hand on the ground. He couldn't fight...he couldn't even pull himself out of the memory. But he knew that the danger was imminent, and he was about to die. I'm sorry...

 

"Go, go!" Riku commanded urgently, waving Sora's Nobody as he stood next to the open door. He looked past Roxas as he ran through the door, seeing a swarm of Heartless following them. They weren't planning to let the two leave, but Riku wasn't going to let that happen. He darted through the door just as it started to close, rushing after Roxas.

Roxas emerged on the other side of the door, the light dimming. He came to a short stop, though, when he saw the large Nobodies, and that they were surrounding none other than the person they were after. Sora. Roxas didn't hesitate his next move just as Riku came through the door. He rushed forward as the Beserker started to bring its weapon down, the boy skidding to a halt right in front of Sora. He criss-crossed Oathkeeper and Oblivion just in time to hear the loud clash of metal on metal. He had successfully blocked the attack.

 

Sora furrowed his brows, the loud clanging somehow bringing him out of the memory. He lifted his head, his eyes finding the blond directly in front of him. "Roxas!" he cried out in relief. He winced when the picture flickered to Goofy standing in front of him with his shield and then back to Roxas again. A bead of sweat trailed down his temple as he tried to fight against the memory threatening to take over his senses again.

 

Roxas grunted slightly as the Beserker pushed down on his blades, causing them to shake. He pushed back as hard as he could, but he was struggling too much; he was going to lose it soon. "Riku! A little help here!" he yelled, his voice rough from the pressure he was trying to fight off.

Riku's sight had been on Sora, but he didn't hesitate when he got the call. He summoned the power of Dark Aura to him, that being the last of his magic. He could feel it leave him as the blue power was sent at all three of the Beserkers, first hitting the two on the sides, and then coming in contact with the one pressing down on Roxas.

 

Sora looked over his shoulder when Roxas called out to another person and the fireballs came. There he was, the person he had just fought on the last floor. "Riku!" he called in relief, his voice strained in the pain of holding back the memory. A short groan left his lips when the image of Riku blinked to one of Donald and then back to normal again. He couldn't hold back this memory much longer; it was about to overtake him again.

 

Thanks to Riku's attack, the Beserker that had been pushing against Roxas was stunned. The boy took the opportunity to push his blades forward, throwing the Beserker even more off balance. He then slashed at it with Oblivion, following up with Oathkeeper. The Beserker was pushed back from the two hits, momentarily stunned.

Riku's aquamarine eyes flicked to Sora for a moment before his instinct kicked in, the older teen focusing back on Roxas and the Beserkers. "Move 'em back!" he demanded as he ran forward. They had to get them away from Sora, and quickly. There were three of them and only two Keyblade wielders. They had to move fast.