Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return V2

Out of the corner of his eye Riku noticed Sora going over to the Heartless, and he could tell by his face that he had seen an illusion. Riku summoned Way to Dawn to his grasp before darting towards Sora, reaching for his friend's arm and pulling him back.

 

Sora grunted and stumbled back a step when Riku forcefully tugged at his arm. He gave his friend a confused look, but the frustration of not being able to embrace his love was enough to make that confusion turn to anger. "What're you doing? Lemme go!" He attempted to pull his arm out of Riku's grasp, the brunet shifting his gaze from Riku towards Kairi by the doorway. Why wasn't Riku letting him run to her?!

 

Riku only tightened his grasp on his best friend's arm. "Sora, wait a second!" he insisted, struggling to keep his hold on his arm. "It's a trick!" Sora couldn't see it now, because all he saw was what he longed for. It was obvious he had never encountered Heartless like this before.

 

Sora furrowed his brows, turning his head to look at Riku. "A trick? That's impossible! I see her standing right there!" He brought up a free hand and pointed at the girl, his eyes following the movement and landing on Kairi in the doorway. He felt his heart breaking each second he was restrained from getting to her, but in the back of his head, he was wondering why she hadn't called out to him, or why she wasn't scolding Riku for keeping them apart.

 

"It's not her, Sora! It's not Kairi!" Riku said, knowing exactly who Sora was talking about. He pulled back on Sora's arm again, stronger than the younger boy. "Don't let it deceive you!"

 

Sora grunted, his eyes widening at Riku's force. He was serious, wasn't he? But Sora was too caught up over the idea of seeing Kairi again, and embracing her like he had longed to do for so long. "Let me go!" he shouted again, starting to get angry with his best friend. All he wanted was to run to her; was that so much to ask?!

 

Riku tightened his grip on Sora's arm and didn't let him move any further. "It's an illusion!" he told his friend urgently, aware that the situation could be dangerous if Sora escaped his grasp. "The Heartless shows you what you desire. You can't let it fool you!"

 

Sora stopped struggling when he heard Riku say the name of their enemy, the name of the Heartless making him think logically for a moment. "How's that possible?" he asked tensely. "I don't feel threatened!" A Heartless, whether it was visibly present or about to ambush you, always made you feel a sense of doom or threat. Here, he didn't feel anything but a desire to run over to that person in the doorway.

 

"That's the way it works," Riku explained further, not letting go of Sora's arm, in fear he still would run to "Kairi". "The Heartless has the power to discover the thing you long for most and manipulates your mind, creating the illusion of your strongest desire." His eyes turned toward the creature, recognizing it as only a Heartless, not fooled by its tricks. "It's how it lures in its victims. You can't give in."

 

Sora furrowed his brows, shutting his eyes for a moment. He didn't fully believe Riku, but he realized that he only had once chance to get out of his grasp, and that was for him to try and convince Riku he believed that "thing" was a Heartless. "Fine," he said, his voice flat. "Can you let go now?"

 

Riku's eyes fell back on Sora at his tone, but he didn't believe him. "No. Not until you prove to me you don't see Kairi," he said. "The only way the Heartless lets you see its natural form is if you truly believe the illusion is a lie." There was only one way Riku could think of that would help Sora see the flaw in the creature's power, and he hoped it didn't come to it. If Sora didn't see it soon, he would make the order.

 

Sora furrowed his brows, a soft growl leaving him. He was sick of this game Riku was playing! But he didn't dare lash out at his friend; he had done that before, and he had been proven wrong. Riku was always right, even when he didn't want to believe it. Was this one of those cases, or was Riku actually incorrect about this?

 

Riku didn't see any change in his friend's expression except for the anger. "Sora," he said, voice firm. He needed to see beyond the illusion and into the darkness the Heartless was made of. Immediately. The longer it held him under its spell, the harder it would be for him to get out of it.

 

Sora blinked, coming out of his thoughts. He gazed at "Kairi" in front of him for a few seconds before he turned to look over his shoulder at his best friend. "I'm not seeing it, Riku," he said tensely, the brunet restraining his anger. Lashing out wouldn't have been a good move, especially since Riku had a very tight grip on his arm.

 

Riku stared at Sora with stern eyes, brows furrowed in seriousness. Sora left him no choice. What he was about to tell him next was going to shock him, but it was the only way to convince him. "Threaten it," he demanded.

 

Sora's eyes widened, shock and disbelief showing in his big blue eyes. "What?" He glanced at Kairi in the doorway, shocked that his friend was putting him in this position. "What good will that do!?" He turned his head again and looked at Riku, frustration in his gaze.

 

"The Heartless will think you're not convinced, if only for a moment," Riku stated strictly. "You'll see the darkness, even if it's a little bit. Now, show it the Keyblade." Riku realized that Sora was seeing Kairi, and using the blade against her was something he refused to do. But Sora needed to see beyond the surface and recognize the darkness within.

 

Sora gritted his teeth in frustration, hearing in Riku's tone that he had no choice but to obey the order. He looked from Riku to Kairi, his hard stare softening slightly. Kairi, forgive me, he thought, flexing his right hand. A moment later, he saw the Kingdom Key appearing in his grasp. However, he hesitated with lifting his gaze to Kairi, afraid that this talk of threatening her had upset her in anyway.

 

Riku glanced at the Heartless he saw still positioned near the door to the workshop, but then looked back down at Sora, waiting for him to see the truth. Riku was trying to help his friend, but it was only Sora that could really relieve the spell.

 

After a few moments, Sora lifted his head to gaze at Kairi in the doorway. Though he still saw Kairi's figure in there, he suddenly realized that the air around them reeked of darkness. He blinked and furrowed his brows, honestly trying to see the truth now. He sensed some trickery, and he wanted the truth of the matter.