Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return V2

Riku slashed at one of the Heartless, defeating it. He only caught a glimpse of the small heart entering the sky before he grunted in pain, finding a bloody scratch on his arm. He cried out in anger as he swung, sending the Heartless back.

 

Sora groaned quietly, holding the broken charm in his hand through everything. He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, his right hand enclosed around the charm. I won't lose a single piece, Kairi, he silently vowed. He just started getting off his hands when he felt a kick to the head, knocking him back down hard. His bright blue eyes opened after a moment and he saw Kairi staring down at him with a frown on her face.

 

Riku continued to strike at his enemies, taking out his anger but remaining rational with his attacks. He stayed focused and after a minute defeated another.

 

Sora brought up a fist, wiping at a bit of blood on the edge of his lip. He looked up at the thing that looked like Kairi just in time to see its lips mouth something: "You broke it." His eyes widened slightly, unaware that the breed of Heartless was clever enough to even know what a charm like that even stood for. He grunted when he felt the thing kick him hard in the stomach, making him lose his breath once again.

 

Riku switched up his attacks, moving from Way to Dawn to Dark Aura, then back again. He only had two of his enemies left, out of the five that had originally attacked him. He focused on the darkness inside them, something he had learned over his journey when he first encountered this breed of Heartless.

 

Sora laid his head in the snow, trying to catch his breath and at the same time trying to find a way to get out of his awful situation. But as long at that thing looked like Kairi, there wasn't a thing he could do. He felt a wave of energy impact his mind, silencing any thoughts he had been pondering before. This single Heartless was beating him to a pulp, and he knew then that he was in serious trouble.

 

Riku released a harsh cry as he shot Dark Aura at one of the Heartless, pushing it back repeatedly until it disappeared, one more heart floating up to the sky. He turned, but not in time. The other Heartless jumped at him and knocked him back, making him hit the ground. He quickly recovered, rolling in the snow and getting back up on his feet. He stared down the Heartless, making himself concentrate on its core. Darkness. It's all darkness.

 

Sora grunted when he felt the pressure on his mind increase, the Heartless using a move that it often used when it first lured a person in. The mental waves either stunned the person too much to sense a threat, or it was so strong that it knocked the person unconscious. Obviously in this case, the Heartless was devoting all its power to trying to knock Sora out for the count.

 

Riku charged at the Heartless, dodging its attacks and dealing his own. It only took a few strong hits before the thing disappeared. When silence greeted him, he wasn't comforted; he could still sense darkness. Riku turned around, his eyes widening slightly when he saw Sora across the area, and one of the Heartless bending over him.

 

Sora felt a pair of strong arms grab him at the neck then, though the mental pain continued. He grunted and felt himself being lifted up, his airway being closed by the Heartless holding onto him. He had been in a choke-hold once before, so he knew from the past that the mind couldn't survive without oxygen for long. And since he had already been breathing heavy, things could only get worse. He felt his feet come off the ground and he kicked through the air in attempt to get free, eyes shut so he didn't see the being holding him.

 

Riku didn't hesitate. He ran forward, his feet crunching loudly and quickly through the snow. When he was a few yards away, he shot Dark Aura at the Heartless, seeing it as its true form. He knew Sora was still seeing the same person as before, and that was distracting him from defending himself.

 

Sora suddenly felt the Heartless drop him and he hit the snow, rolling slightly out of the way. Then he opened his eyes a crack to see "Kairi" taking a step back in pain. He winced and tried to pick himself up, dizzy from the mind games that the creature had been playing on him. Actually, it was still happening, but thanks to Riku's intervention, it couldn't fully focus on hurting Sora anymore.

 

Riku stood, but not in his stance. He was breathing heavily from battle, Way to Dawn at his side, his grip tight. He stared down the Heartless, seeing its glowing eyes. He remembered what he used to see instead, and how painful it had been to try and conquer the illusion. But it had to be done for his own good.

 

Sora pushed himself up to his knees, looking at the broken charm in his hand. He couldn't take any more chances; he had to put it away before he lost a piece of it. He put it in his pocket, where he was sure that it would be safe. Apart from that, a sensation of pain suddenly hit him, the Heartless having shifted its gaze to Sora. "Ah," he gasped in pain, lifting his hands to clutch his head because the pain of the mental energy this thing was pressing on him.

 

Riku shot another blast of energy toward the Heartless, distracting it. The dark orbs impacted it and dazed it for a moment, giving Riku enough time to speak. "Defeat one, Sora! That's all it takes!" he said, voice tight with urgency. The Heartless had already done more harm than he thought, and it was only getting worse.

 

Sora gripped his head, still having a lot of pain in his head even after that attack stopped. "...I...can't..." he said through gritted teeth, the pain unbearable. Even if he wanted to, he was too weak now. There was no way he had the mental strength to defeat this thing.

 

Riku's eyes darted to Sora and back to the Heartless. Without a word, he darted forward and slashed at the foe, pushing it farther and farther back and away from Sora's form. He hit it a few more times with Way to Dawn, and then it was gone.

 

Sora was aware of Riku fighting the enemy for a few moments, but he couldn't think of much more than that with all the stress on his mind. He felt as if he wanted to collapse in a faint, but his instincts were keeping him in reality, since it was his natural desire to never be knocked out during a battle. Even when the battle was over, he gripped his head, the pain there but not intensifying anymore now that the Heartless was dead.

 

Riku stood there for a moment, using his senses to try to detect any more darkness. When he didn't catch anything, he turned around, his eyes falling on Sora. He summoned his blade away wordlessly and approached his friend, not saying anything. There wasn't much he could really say right now, especially when his words had the possibility of causing Sora more mental stress than he was already going through.

 

Sora gritted his teeth together, a bead of sweat trailing down his temple despite the frigid weather. Make it stop! he mentally cried, a new wave of pain impacting him. He groaned softly, gripping his head more tightly. It was getting worse again. Why is it getting worse?!