Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora shut his eyes tightly, the noises of the real world fading away as the memory took over. Right after Donald and Goofy saved him, they had a conversation with Larxene. And then right after that, they fought together to defeat her. Obviously they won, because if they hadn't, Sora wouldn't have been there today. Once they claimed the victory, Larxene faded out of existence, all while calling them losers and such. How sad...for her.

The next part was where things got complicated. They all headed over to Namine, who was sitting by the replica of Riku. Donald and Goofy introduced themselves, but Namine knew who they were, since she had been the one messing with their memories this entire time. After a moment, Goofy turned and congratulated Sora on finding his "friend", but he was just standing there with his head lowered to the ground and eyes shut. He was so sad...so ashamed over what he did to reach this point.

Namine began to explain the situation to all of them, aware that this was all her fault. It was her responsibility to try and set things right, even if that was just telling them the truth about what she did and why Sora was so affected. "I took the people and the memories that were inside Sora's heart and then little by little, I replaced them with false memories....Sora's promise was made up. It was fake. Sora never really promised me anything. Me being with him in the Islands...that was a lie, just like everything else. We never met; I was never Sora's friend."

 

Roxas nodded once and then proceeded to hit the Nobody in front of him. He pulled a fast air combo before landing on his feet, moving on to the Beserker on his left while the other was stunned for the moment. He hit this one repeatedly as well, hearing Riku's own battle cries to his right.

Riku swung Way to Dawn mercilessly, attacking the Beserker with all of the rage and hatred that had built up on the last twelve floors. Oh, how he hated this place, and he hated these things. Nobodies. Riku quickly performed a combo and successfully pushed the Beserker he was attacking back, out of the corner of his eye witnessing Roxas doing the same. Good, the farther away these things were from Sora the better.

 

The discussion continued to the point where Jiminy asked if there was anything they could do to regain their old memories. Namine explained that on the next floor, she could fix everything, but Marluxia was there. And he was the one who ordered her to mess with their memories, threatening that she would be locked in the castle forever if she didn't obey. She apologized profusely, but Sora cut her off.

"It's like this," Sora started, looking at the floor as his arms were crossed over his chest. "I'm really not happy about you messing with my memories. But, you know, I can't really get mad about it either. These memories you gave me, in my head I know they're lies, but they still feel right. Like the promise I made. I said I would protect you and I wouldn't make you cry. Not ever. Namine, if you cried now, I'll feel guilty, like I let you down. So don't cry. Please. Until I get my memories back, smile and try to be happy. It's easier on me that way."

"Sora..." Namine said, her voice showing a bit of hope at his words. She recoginzed that he really was a sweet and caring person, because who else would have still treated her kindly after everything she had done? She had made so many mistakes and yet Sora was willing to forgive her. It touched her heart.

However, the peaceful moment didn't last long when Donald interrupted it with a comment. And then Goofy joined in, saying that Sora was always this way with girls. Sora pretend to be offended at it, but really, he was the first one to start laughing over it. His laughter was contagious, and eventually everyone joined in, even Namine. That made him really happy at the time.

 

Riku pushed his target back, and then saw something out of the corner of his eye in the ground, near Roxas. "Use its weapon!" he hollered as he swung at the Berserker in front of him.

Roxas swung one more time before racing toward the large weapon in the ground. "I know! You don't think I know my own kind?" he yelled back, his voice tense with the adrenaline flowing through him. He grabbed on to the weapon and found himself floating a little in the air, surrounded by red. He slid around the room, gathering the two Nobodies he had been attacking together before moving to the third by Riku. It was then that he performed the next move, flipping and hitting the Berserkers at the same time. He then spun rapidly, hitting them multiple times before the weapon evaporated from his grasp, as well as one of the Berserkers.

 

There was a short discussion that followed the laughter, things taking on a more serious tone. Marluxia was up ahead, so Sora and his friends agreed that Namine should stay behind and they would come back for her when it was safe. He even requested that Namine say with Riku for him. That gesture impacted him hard, making him groan aloud. Even if that wasn't really Riku, he still wanted it taken care of. Why didn't he treat the real Riku that well?

 

Riku had backed up a little bit during Roxas's action, watching as the Berserkers were swung and beaten around. When Roxas landed back on his feet, Riku didn't hesitate jumping back into the fight. He attacked the Berserker closest to him, a battle cry leaving his throat.

Roxas briefly glanced at Riku at the harsh sound, but summoned his blades back to him in a flash of light before joining him. He jumped at the Berserker, beginning to unravel an air combo once more.

 

In the memory, Sora promised Namine that he would be safe and then they were off to the next floor. That was the end of what had occurred in this room. He winced and forced his eyes open, a heavy breath leaving him as his vision and hearing began to return.

 

Riku spun and swung his blade at the Berserker, but that didn't seem to be enough. He was still weak from his fight earlier, and his magic was completely gone. One of the Berserker's arms swung around and hit Riku, causing him to fall down. He looked up just as the Berserker swung his weapon down. With a quick gasp and slight widening of his eyes, Riku rolled out of the way, just as the weapon came crashing down.

 

Sora winced, tightening the arm he had wrapped around his waist in pain. Yeah, those Berserkers were strong. Speaking of which...He looked up and saw Riku and Roxas fighting two large Nobodies. Apparently the third one was gone, since he wasn't anywhere to be found. Sora let out a soft grunt and pushed himself back onto his knees, his arm still wrapped around him.

 

Riku leaped quickly to his feet. "Ether! Toss me an ether!" he cried as he dodged the Berserker's attacks. He needed his magic back; that would help him counter this foe.

Roxas performed a few quick front flips while striking the Berserker with his Keyblades and then landed lightly on the white floor. He dug into his pocket quickly before throwing an ether across the room toward Riku. It exploded over his head and Roxas went back to taking care of his target, a battle cry leaving his throat.

Riku felt power return to him, and he didn't hesitate summong his Dark magic to him. With a grunt he shot off a few fireballs at the Nobody, watching as it became stunned. He darted toward it quickly, jumping into the air and slashing at it.

 

Sora looked down at the ground, seeing something sitting there. His Keyblade. He switched arms, pulling his left one around his waist as his right hand reached for the weapon. He used what little energy he had left to stab it into the ground, the brunet planning on using it to help him rise to his feet.

 

Riku continuously launched the same assault, switching back and forth between his magic and physical attacks. Somehow these Berserkers were still standing. He was becoming even more frustrated now, both at that and the fact that he was still weak. That was probably why he wasn't doing enough damage. A harsh cry left his lips again as he swung as hard as he could at the Nobody, feeling his blade make contact.

Roxas repeatedly beat his Berserker until it let its weapon go once more. His eyes widened at the opportunity and he briefly glanced at the Nobody, seeing it begin to recompose itself. Roxas immediately darted for the weapon stuck in the ground, determination written all over his face. He leaped at it, sensing the Berserker coming after him, and grabbed a hold of it. He felt the power within the weapon envelope him, seeing temporarily in red. "Get back!" he ordered roughly, already moving toward the enemies with the newly acquired weapon.

 

Sora got one knee off the ground, depending heavily on his grip on the Keyblade to keep him upright. However, he felt his foot slip out from underneath him, so he fell back to his knees. Hard. He released his stomach and gripped the hilt of the Keyblade with both hands to keep himself from falling forward, a groan leaving his lips as a result of weakness and pain.

 

Riku stepped back without a second thought, moving out of the way. Over the excitement he heard a groan and turned his head, eyes finding Sora. His friend looked like he was in a lot of pain. But, there was still a battle to be fought.

"You're finished!" Roxas cried, swinging the Berserker's weapon relentlessly at the two enemies. After a few seconds of the flipping, he spun around, simultaneously hitting both of them. He was satisfied to see that one of the Berserkers disappeared in defeat. Roxas dropped to the ground and looked up at the last foe. Without hesitation, he darted forward, a harsh sound leaving his throat as he swung his blades at the Berserker in an X formation, sliding past it and freezing in the position on the other side. That was when he heard a heavy thump, the Berserker falling before disappearing as well.

 

Sora released his tight grip on the Keyblade and brought up his right arm, turning his head slightly as he wiped his forehead on his sleeve. His face was covered in sweat, probably as a combination of the memory and the fighting he had done recently. He had never cured himself from either the Berserker's strong swing or the fight with Riku. He couldn't, since he didn't have enough magic left. He exhaled a hard breath through his nose, wrapping his right arm around his stomach again as he lowered his ehad.

 

His sights still on Sora and the battle over, Riku knew what had to be done. He only had a little magic left from the attacks he had used during the fight, and he was going to use the rest of it on a spell. "Roxas," he called, turning his head to the blond Nobody.

Roxas turned around at the voice, Keyblades still in his grasp. His eyes found Riku, a hard look still on his face from the battle. He watched Riku gesture toward the door they had come through and looked in that direction, noticing Sora on the ground still, looking like he was in a lot of pain. Roxas's blue eyes darted back to Riku a second after, and he noticed the look in Riku's gaze. Right, Roxas knew what he meant. The blond nodded once and summoned Oathkeeper away, leaving him with Oblivion. He wrapped both of his hands around the hilt and raised the blade straight into the air, just as Riku did the same. He still had enough magic left in him to cast the spell. In unison with Riku, the blond focused on Sora and created the Cure spell, their magic combining to form a more powerful casting, Cura.

 

Sora's furrowed eyebrows returned to their normal place as he felt a coolness pouring over him, the aches fading to almost nothing. Strength returned to him almost instantaneously, giving him the feeling that he could actually stand up again. He released a breath and looked up, opening his eyes and seeing Riku and Roxas a bit in front of him. He didn't know what to say to them...but before they could have a conversation, it would be better for him to get up off the ground.

 

The twinkling of the spell registered in Riku's ears and he slowly lowered his blade to his side, eyes falling on Sora once more. Just after the casting he appeared to be a little better. At least he could probably stand now. That would actually get them somewhere. Like out of this castle, he thought bitterly, still anxious to get out of here.

Roxas summoned his blade away for the moment, aware that there was no longer a need for it. He started toward Sora, having been closer to the other side of the room. His pace was calm, though he was worried about Sora's condition, even if the Cura spell worked.

 

Sora gripped the Keyblade with one hand and then started to get up slowly, careful not to hurt himself all over again. This only reminded him why he hated Berserkers; with their large weapons and strength, it didn't take much for them to get the upper hand in battle. And that was what had happened to him. He was fortunate that Roxas and Riku showed up. If they hadn't...well, he didn't want to think about that.

 

Roxas approached Sora, coming to a stop a foot or two away from him to give him some space. "You alright?" he asked, his voice seeming loud in the silent room. He briefly noticed that Riku hadn't moved from his spot a couple more feet away, but he decided to forget about that. After all the fighting, there was still some tension here.