Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Leon was surprised at Roxas' outburst, but he wasn't angered. Yuffie had expressed the same doubts, and he had been able to reassure her that letting Sora fight was the right move. He'd just have to convince Roxas as well. "Maybe he's not," he agreed calmly, looking at the blond Nobody. "But it's something he has to do. It's his duty as a Keyblade wielder to defeat Heartless."

A battle cry left Sora's lips as he finished a combo, sending more hearts up into the sky. Just like the Organization would have wanted, he thought, anger boiling up inside him. They used me. Lied to me. Made Namine hurt me and my friends. They killed a lot of people trying to reach their goal and almost succeeded in killing me a few times. The thoughts angered Sora even more, the brunet becoming enraged.

 

"I know that. But even a Keyblade Master can't defeat Heartless as well without full recovery!" Roxas commented, still glaring up at Leon. He grit his teeth and turned to Riku quickly, eyes bright with disbelief. "You're not seriously going to let them do this, are you?"

Riku had been staring at his best friend from the top of the canyon while the argument had ensued. Now that Roxas had brought him into it, he had to speak. "I think I have to," he said after a short moment. He could feel Roxas's angered eyes boring into him and he only continued. "I'm starting to catch on to what's going on, Roxas. There are different types of recovery. Sora could rest up and take more time to recover, or he could face the real problem and overcome it. That's what he's doing now--recovering."

Yuffie nodded. "Yup! That's right!" she chimed. "That's exactly what Leon wanted Sora to do." She looked down the path to watch Sora's progress.

 

"Sora will be fine," Leon said calmly, turning his eyes back to the battlefield. He was glad that Riku understood the logic behind all this; he had been concerned that Riku's long-time friendship with Sora would have clouded his judgement on the issue. But it was a pleasant surprise to have been proved wrong about that.

Sora beat down one more Heartless, a grunt leaving him at the force of his own blade defeating the enemy. He had been fighting mostly Armored Knights and Surveillance Robots this whole time, the same two types of Heartless he had fought last time in this area. But they were much tougher this time. He whirled around and lifted his Keyblade to block an incoming blow, but it wasn't the type he expected. A floating Surveillance Robot shot a beam of light at him, impacting him hard in the chest. A cry left his lips as he was knocked backwards and into the hard canyon wall. He groaned and felt his body fall back down to the ground, the teen on his stomach. I can't fight anymore...he thought tiredly, not moving from the strong attack. Not even my anger can keep me going....It's over.

 

Roxas's eyes widened at the loud noise, the boy turning his head and looking down at the battlefield. He frowned at the sight. "Do you believe this is the right way now, Riku?" he commented, voice rough as he stared down the canyon.

Riku crossed his arms and closed his eyes at Roxas's words, exhaling a breath. Get up, Sora, he thought. Get up. It would only be a distraction if he hollered down at his friend, so he stayed silent as he opened his eyes. Sora was stronger than this, and he knew it. He needed to pull through.

 

Leon furrowed his brows, bringing a hand up to his forehead. Maybe sending Sora down had been a mistake after all...he really wasn't doing well. This could be the end of everything if Sora didn't pull it together right away. Everyone was too far away to help, even if they decided to lend him a hand. It was truly up to Sora.

Sora saw a group of Armored Knights rushing over, about to pounce. He shut his eyes, preparing for it to end. Then, though, everything changed. Get up, Sora! Fight! He opened his eyes and gasped, recognizing the voice in his head. Kairi. He knew it wasn't actually her calling at that moment but a figment of his imagination. Either way, the cry was going to save him. He tightened his grip on the Keyblade as he laid there, the Heartless pouncing on him.

 

"Sora!" Roxas and Riku cried at the same time, the blond boy stunned into silence after the call. He watched helplessly as his Somebody was covered by Armored Knights, his fists uncurling from his sides and his eyes wide.

Riku waited, heart beating rapidly as he stared at the group of Heartless. There were so many left, and they continued to gang up on Sora. For a brief moment, he second-guessed this decision. Was it the right one to make after all Sora had gone through? But then he realized that Sora was stronger because of his experiences, and not even a thousand Heartless should be able to bring him down. Riku stayed silent as the seconds grew longer, waiting for something to happen.

 

Shield! Sora mentally cried. The barrier started around him and then pushed out, sending the Heartless that had previously been on top of him flying. While they were just landing on the ground, he jumped to his feet and pointed his Keyblade at the ground, casting a healing spell. He felt the coolness of the curing over his body, taking away most of the injuries he had just received. He gasped and looked back at his enemies, eyes burning with the sudden determination to survive.

Leon silently released a breath of relief, having seen the action once he moved his hand away from his face. He folded his arms across his chest and continued watching, seeing Sora just curing himself then. That must have used up whatever magic he had left, but he had faith Sora knew what he was doing in battle.

 

Yuffie smiled slightly at the action that had taken place, seeing that Sora was okay. Especially after the Cure spell. "See, boys?" she said, her voice cheery, as always. She put one hand on Riku and Roxas's shoulders. "Sora has everything under control. Nothing to worry about."

Roxas's eyes had widened at the scene that just occurred, inwardly sighing in relief. When Yuffie put her hand on his shoulder, he only continued to watch. It didn't seem like everything was under control a few minutes ago, he thought. But he was relieved that Sora was handling things better now.

Riku felt a smirk come to his lips, as if he was proud. Good, Sora was finally taking control of the fight. About time, he thought, his arms still crossed over his chest.

 

Sora saw another Surveillance Robot shoot a beam of light at him, but he simply bent his knees and performed a high leap, jumping over the Heartless and slashing through it before he landed on the other side of it. He smirked and flexed his left hand, Oathkeeper appearing in his grasp. "Come and get it!" he cried, finally feeling the will to fight flood through his veins.

Leon watched silently as Sora fought like the Keyblade Master he was, hearing Yuffie's remark to the other two teens. She probably hadn't seen that Sora had made him pretty nervous as well, but he was glad for that. He was the one who had to remain calm and composed. He still felt as if he were trying to make a point to Roxas to say that having Sora fight himself was what was necessary for the brunet to recover.

 

Roxas watched the scene unfold before him, hands in loose fists at his sides. He wasn't sure what to think about this "recovery". Sora had been struggling before, which had shown it probably wasn't the best idea. But now that he was fighting back, Roxas wasn't sure anymore. Was this a good way to recover, or not? He knew he'd only find out when the battle ended.

 

Compared to the rest of the battle, where Sora had barely been fighting, the next stage of it went by easily. For a long while, he just enjoyed being able to swing his Keyblades and feeling confident in battle again. He hadn't expected he would be able to recover that feeling again. But after that, his dark thoughts from earlier started to settle in. The Organization. Namine. His memories. His recent behavior. He started slashing through the Heartless in anger, his attacks becoming more ferocious.

 

As the battle went on, Roxas couldn't manage to look away. Things had been going smoothly, and that was always good. But watching Sora fight so many Heartless made a brief memory flash before his eyes, one that involved him leaving the Organization and fighting countless Heartless and Nobodies. He sat on the ground now, arms wrapped around his knees as he watched Sora's attacks grow more furious.

Riku stood while watching the fight, out of the corner of his eye seeing that everybody else was just as focused on it as he was. Sora was doing well, he had to admit. Things had been difficult back in Castle Oblivion, as well as the aftermath, but now it seemed as if Sora was overcoming all of that.

 

By the time Sora had reached five hundred, he started dividing up what kind of anger he used for each group of Heartless. He killed a hundred in anger for Namine, for she hadn't deserved the treatment she received in Castle Oblivion. Another two hundred fell to Sora's blade because of his anger against the Organization, whose evil never ceased to amaze him. If there were some way they could be resurrected, Sora would kill them all for a second time just to satisfy the rage he felt against them. The last two hundred, though, were for himself. He had been an awful person lately, snapping at his friends. That, and he felt as if he had fallen into a trap by going to Castle Oblivion. He felt as if the Organization had manipulated him again, even in their death. That infuriated Sora, making him fight hard despite his exhaustion.

 

Roxas ducked his head a little, his chin becoming hidden slightly behind his knees. The wind messed with his spikes slightly, blowing a few in his eyes. But he hardly noticed, paying attention to the battle. It was almost over, thank goodness.

 

Sora felt an Armored Knight impact his back, forcing him forward. He did a forward somersault and then turned his body slightly, throwing Oathkeeper at the Heartless. He then slashed through the last group of three in front of him, destroying them with one swipe with the Kingdom Key. The battle was over.

 

Yuffie jumped in her spot, smiling as she looked down at Sora. "He did it!" she cheered happily. Sora defeated all one thousand Heartless!

Riku found himself smiling slightly, his arms falling back to his sides. Sora overcame the struggle, and he was proud of his younger best friend. He beat the battle, just like Riku himself had done with the darkness. But somehow, by Sora's fighting style during the battle, he felt it was more than just beating the Heartless.

Roxas looked down from the top of the canyon, his Somebody in his sight. He exhaled quietly, that being a slight sigh of relief. Good, the fight was over. But was Sora fully recovered now, like Leon had planned?

 

Leon found himself smirking slightly, seeing Sora victorious on the battlefield. I knew you had it in you, kid, he thought, keeping his eyes on the brunet. He knew then that he had made the right decision letting Sora fight out his frustrations. The question now, though, was did Sora see it that way? Or did he have hard feelings about Leon leaving him alone out there?

Sora summoned away Oathkeeper and fell down onto his knees, Kingdom Key stabbing the ground in front of him. He gasped for air and held onto the hilt of the blade with both hands, keeping himself upright because of that. He had used up all his strength in the battle, and now he just felt plain exhausted.

 

Riku turned his attention to the side, looking across Yuffie to the Nobody sitting on the ground. "Roxas," he called, the boy instantly looking up at him. "C'mon." He waved with his arm for the kid to follow him, the silver-haired teen starting toward the path to get to Sora.

Roxas pushed himself up quickly, following Riku automatically. He glanced from the high point down at Sora as he did so, picking up his pace a little as he caught Riku moving into a jog.

 

Sora panted where he sat, staying still as the silence engulfed him. For all the anger he had during battle, he didn't have any more now. He had either fought it all out or he was too exhausted to feel anything at all. He believed it was the latter, for his anger against the Organization was too great for him to get out on only two hundred Heartless.

 

Riku ran down the path that had been recently placed near the battle sight, hearing Roxas's fast-paced footsteps just behind him. His eyes were on Sora and as he reached the bottom of the canyon, he ran forward to approach his best friend, and congratulate him on a job well-done.

Roxas followed behind Riku, the end of the path widening into the floor of the canyon. He ran along it, glancing around briefly. This place had been full of Heartless, and Sora beat them singlehandedly. Roxas's eyes settled back on his Somebody as they got closer, almost reaching him.