Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora took in a step after Riku, leaving enough room for Roxas to get through behind him. He stopped when he thought he saw something across the room...somebody in a black coat with pink hair. Marluxia. But then the image blinked out of existence. Sora winced faintly, sensing that a memory was about to take over his mind again.

 

Riku furrowed his eyebrows slightly. "Doesn't feel like any Nobodies are nearby," he announced, looking around. The place was just...empty. Nothing dangerous was in sight.

Roxas entered the room in time to hear Riku's statement, and he looked around to confirm it. Yup, not a Nobody in sight. "Sora, didn't you--" He stopped there, seeing the look on his friend's face. "Sora?"

 

Sora furrowed his eyebrows and shut his eyes, lowering his head without thought as a sight clouded his memory. Axel was standing near him, with his weapons in front of him but with his back to him. What was on the other side of the room was what caught his attention. Marluxia had his scythe, but he had something else too...someone else. Namine. He groaned at the sight of it, hating to see his close friend in such a dangerous position.

 

Riku's head had turned toward Sora when Roxas spoke, but he put his hand on his friend's shoulder at the groan. "A memory again," he said, and then sighed. He was about to question when this would stop, but then he knew the answer: it wouldn't end until they were out of Castle Oblivion. Simple as that.

 

Marluxia distracted Sora then, saying that Axel was willing to hurt Namine to get to him. And Sora, being the fool he was, challenged Axel instead of Marluxia. He fought him and won, beating the man without much of a problem. Axel faded away, saying something about it being worth saving him. Sora questioned him about it, but he faded away before he could respond. Once he was alone, Sora stood there for a moment, trying to think. But then when he recalled Namine's situation, he ran toward the next exit after his friend and the villain Marluxia.

 

Roxas looked at Sora for the few moments it had been silent, aware that he was still in a memory. Sora was lucky. His memories weren't nearly as painful as his had been. He remembered how he was in Pridelands, in so much pain it was almost unbearable.

 

Sora opened his eyes, releasing a breath in the form of a gasp. Namine...she was in trouble. Worse than that! Why hadn't Marluxia just killed her, since she betrayed them and was on Sora's side? He didn't understand...

 

"You alright?" Riku asked calmly, looking down at Sora. His hand was still on his shoulder, mainly to steady him in case he got a little weak.

Roxas was wondering the same thing, staring at his Somebody with curious eyes. Whatever Sora had seen, it hadn't been good by the look on his face. Then again, nothing in this place had been good to him.

 

Sora looked up, his eyes showing a bit of panic as he looked between his two friends. "I...Namine..." he trailed off, unable to complete the sentences. Namine could have been killed! And something else was strange, too. When he saw her being held by Marluxia, he felt the same emotions he would have if Kairi were in that position. He understood that the feelings were caused by false memories, but it was still hard to wrap his heart around that logic.

 

Roxas's eyes instantly widened. "N-Namine?!" he said, his voice showing his alarm. "What, Sora? What about Namine?" By the look in Sora's eyes, it couldn't have possibly been good. Namine had never told Roxas about what took place here, and Riku hadn't said anything about her except that she was used for her power. It was more than that, it had to be. Especially by Sora's reaction.

 

Sora met Roxas' gaze, his eyes showing that he was still in a bit of a daze from the memory. "Marluxia had her," he said, his low voice close to a growl. His anger was directed at Marluxia, for the man must have been purely evil if he held an innocent girl captive and threatened to use her as a shield.

 

Roxas blinked. "Marluxia?" The name triggered the appearance of the man in Roxas's mind. He instantly recognized the pink hair and the sly blue eyes that were hiding all kinds of mischief and secrets. He had always gotten a creepy vibe around the guy, and the fact that he had his hands on Namine... Roxas felt his blood begin to boil. He made a sound of disgust. "Marluxia," he practically spat.

 

Sora furrowed his brows, staring off in the general direction Marluxia had been standing at. And this his eyes went to the door that he had run through in his memory. After the evil man. If he went through that door now, he was sure to find out what happened to his friend and how the madman was stopped. Leaving the castle now wasn't a choice; he wouldn't leave until he knew how Namine became safe again.

 

Riku looked from Sora to Roxas. Both of them reacted the same way about the situation regarding Namine in Marluxia's hands. The fact that they showed the same anger and alarm was a bit odd.

"Do you know anything else?" Roxas asked, his voice now strict and tense. Anything regarding Namine had him worried, especially when it involved somebody like Marluxia.

 

Sora shook his head, briefly glancing at Roxas. "No, but I will soon enough," he said, starting off in a light jog towards the next door. "C'mon," he said over his shoulder, summoning his blade into his hand as he kept going towards the door. He didn't bother waiting, trusting his friends were right behind him.

 

Roxas didn't hesitate, summoning Oblivion to his hand and running after Sora. Anything that had to do with Namine, he wanted to know. Even if it was in the past.

Riku followed naturally, not yet summoning his Keyblade. He was going to remain calm about this. The only threats they had to face were Nobodies. Even though Sora was in a rush to find out what happened to Namine, he wasn't going to jump to conclusions. She was obviously alright, but what happened here is still a mystery to his other two comrades.

 

Sora made it through the door first, a groan of disgust leaving his lips when he saw at least a dozen Dusks in the room. Anger boiling inside him, he ran forward and slashed through the nearest Nobody, a battle-cry leaving his lips.

 

Roxas saw Sora head forward into the swarm of Dusks, and he instantly dashed to the right, cutting through a few of them immediately. Even though it was just a memory, he wanted to help Sora uncover the rest of it as soon as possible.

Riku caught sight of the other two already in battle, and he saw a group of Nobodies heading toward the middle of the room, in Sora's direction. The older boy let out a sharp cry as he summoned Way to Dawn and jumped into the chaos.

 

Sora and his friends fought for a long time, but the Nobodies kept appearing. They were all tired and wounded, but Sora was the worst of them all, since he used all his magic to cure Riku and Roxas during the battle instead of worrying about himself. A harsh cry left his lips as he slashed at his last Nobody, seeing it disappear. Then he turned to see Roxas and Riku still fighting their own groups. But those groups were the only ones left, and Sora knew it would be better for him to stay clear. Not only was he very winded and hurting like crazy, but fighting in a group of Dusks was risky due to their quick movements. It was easy to mistake friend for foe in this case, and none of them could afford that happening here. "I'm going on ahead!" he called to his friends, speaking loudly enough to be heard even over the noise of battle. He could get some rest, hopefully.

 

Roxas slashed at one of the Nobodies with both of his blades. "'Kay!" he hollered before being forced to defend himself against another Dusk. He grunted and pushed it away before swinging his weapons, causing the Nobody to be pushed back and into a few others.

"Be careful!" Riku yelled back, striking a Nobody from behind as he gained the upperhand in battle. Since Sora had been healing him over the course of the fight, his weakness was gone and his full strength had returned. He was fighting much better now than before, that proving by the Nobodies' numbers dwindling considerably.