Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora lowered his head and shut his eyes, wincing faintly at both the pain of the wounds he received in battle and the tiredness he felt. He thought he heard footsteps coming toward him, but he didn't pay attention to them, for he could tell that the sounds weren't created by Heartless or Nobodies.

 

Riku slowed his pace to a halt as he reached Sora, bending over slightly and putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hey, buddy. You okay?" he asked, seeing that Sora wasn't making any moves to stand up.

Roxas came to a halt, standing slightly in front of Sora. He looked down at him, seeing a few scratches and bruises beginning to form. Too bad he didn't have any potions on him, and he wasn't sure how much magic was left in him at the moment.

Yuffie looked down at the three boys for a moment before turning her head to look up at the brunet beside her. "Nice going, Leon," she said with a nod, referring to his idea that Sora could recover this way. He certainly had overcome the obstacles in his way.

 

Sora lifted his head and looked over at Riku, still breathing heavily due to the long, hard battle. "Fine," he said breathlessly, meeting Riku's eyes. He wasn't sure what kinds of emotions would be showing in his own bright blue orbs; he was too tired to comprehend what he was feeling.

"Hm," Leon hummed, nodding slightly. He kept his eyes on the teens down there, seeing Sora still on the ground. He could tell the kid wasn't seriously hurt. Sora was probably just exhausted, both because of the battle and because he had just been unconscious for two days. Sora may have conquered a physical battle today, but what about the mental struggle? There was no way to tell at this point.

 

Riku tilted his head to the side at the emotions in Sora's eyes, but didn't show any more of a reaction than that. He could see obvious exhaustion and anger in the gaze, but that was to be expected after everything. Riku moved his hand from Sora's shoulder to under his arm, prepared to help him up.

 

Sora looked down slightly, seeing Riku set his hand in a place so that he could help him up. The brunet released a breath and let go of the Keyblade with that hand, willing to let Riku give him a hand. For once, he was alright with depending on his friends instead of relying on his own strength. He didn't know why that was, but he didn't question it.

 

Riku used his strength to pull Sora slowly to his feet, being sure not to make his injuries any worse. He kept his eyes on his friend, taking in the scratches and bruises. He had some magic left in him still from his own Heartless battles earlier. Maybe he and Roxas could come up with another Cure spell to help Sora out.

 

When Sora was upright, he clenched his empty right hand into a fist, summoning away the Keyblade that had been standing upright in the ground. There was no more need for that, thank goodness. Actually, he didn't know if that was the end of things. It was possible he would still see Heartless once he was out of this canyon, but he felt as if his friends would cover for him in those fights. Then again, they hadn't come down and helped him when he had to fight off a thousand...He exhaled a breath and looked down, eyebrows furrowed both at the thought and at his own exhaustion. He felt as if he weren't thinking straight, so he didn't feel upset over his own serious thoughts.

 

"We should get you back," Roxas said, speaking for the first time they had been down in the canyon. His eyebrows were furrowed over his bright eyes, having been in thought for the past few minutes but still aware of what was going on.

Riku nodded in agreement, looking from Roxas to his best friend as he let his hand come back down to his side. Sora needed to rest up, and if not that, at least talk to Leon. It had appeared earlier that he wasn't really prepared for what happened here.

 

Sora nodded slightly at Roxas' words, leaving his own thoughts behind. There would be plenty of time for thinking later; right now, he just wanted to get out of this canyon. He started walking slowly in the direction he himself had come from, his eyes noticing Leon and Yuffie standing at the top of the cliff.

 

Riku looked at Sora, staying where he was. "Sora, hold on a second," he said then. He turned his head to look at Roxas, meeting the Nobody's gaze. "Do you have enough magic left in you?"

Roxas knew immediately what Riku was asking of, and he nodded. He summoned his blade to him immediately, seeing Riku do the same.

 

Sora stopped as Riku requested and turned around, hands in loose fists by his sides. As soon as Riku spoke to Roxas, he knew what he was thinking of. And the summoning of their blades confirmed it. Unless, of course, they were going to test him and put him through yet another battle. A ridiculous notion, but he was thinking out every possible scenario now since Leon had given him an unpleasant surprise with the battle he had just fought through.

 

Riku lifted his blade above his head, pointing it straight in the air. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Roxas doing the same. He immediately thought of the healing power of a cure spell and the cool-yet-warm sensation, those thoughts rushing to his heart and producing the spell. He felt power leave him and knew that the spell had left his and Roxas's hands, moving over to Sora.

 

From his spot on the cliff, Leon frowned. Sora needed to not depend on his friends so much; there were times where you ended up alone and you had to deal with pain. I suppose that's one lesson that he won't be learning today, he thought, his eyes remaining serious as he watched the situation.

Sora shut his eyes when he felt the warming yet cooling feeling run over his body. A breath left him as his shoulders slumped out of their tensed positions, the brunet feeling the stinging of the cuts and the aching of the bruises fade away significantly.

 

Roxas brought his blade down and summoned his Keyblade away immediately. "Now you won't be as tired when we reach Merlin's," he stated, believing that the Cure spell would provide him with enough strength to be able to stand and move for a longer period of time.

 

Sora chuckled slightly at Roxas's words, even if they weren't meant to be funny. "At least I'll make it to Merlin's now," he said, bringing a hand to the back of his head and running it over his spikes. He had been so weak before, he hadn't known if he could make it to the top of the hill. But thanks to his friends, he had the strength to make it to a safe haven.

 

Riku nodded, smiling faintly. "Let's go," he encouraged, looking from Sora to Roxas. By now everybody was probably wanting to get back to Merlin's, to either rest or talk, or most likely both.

Roxas grunted in agreement and started forward, leading the way as he walked past Sora. He started toward the path in silence, hands in light fists at his sides. He wasn't exactly tired, and was instead still getting lost in his thoughts--over the Organization, Castle Oblivion...Namine, Ansem's computer, his memories, and his own existence.

 

Sora turned around and headed after Roxas, walking a little more slowly than his best friend. The cure spell had healed most of his wounds and given him strength to make it back, but he was still tired. And he didn't really feel like seeing Leon face to face; this whole thing had brought out a lot of anger with him, and he felt in a daze now. It was an unpleasant feeling, and he couldn't help but pin the blame on Leon, since he was the one who sent him down to the battlefield and then abandoned him.

 

Riku walked at Sora's pace, briefly glancing at Roxas. He looked down at his best friend and put a hand lightly on his shoulder as they walked. "You did well," he complimented softly. Sora had overcome a big obstacle today while in his condition. He deserved praise for it.

 

Sora looked over at Riku, a little surprised at the praise. Riku wasn't one to give out free compliments, which made it much more special when he did say something like that. "Thanks," he said, giving his friend a small nod and a weak smile. But he and Riku probably both knew that not everything was solved. Yes, he defeated a thousand Heartless all by himself, but fighting didn't solve all your problems.

 

Riku nodded once and patted Sora's shoulder, then letting his hand fall back to his side. He looked forward and saw that Roxas was a couple yards ahead now, obviously not paying attention to the fact that they were behind. Oh well, they were all going to the same place.