Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Namine opened her eyes partway at Kairi's question. Sora? How could I have not realized he wasn't here? she thought. But before she could feel too guilty, she chased the thought away. She was lucky to be this awake at all. But Kairi posed a valid question. Where was he...?

"You're not me," Sora said harshly. "I'm me."

Dark Sora smiled, putting up his hands in surrender. "Alright; fair enough," he agreed. "I'm not you. I'm your darkness." He smirked widely. "The part of you that people actually like."

Sora growled. "Like I'm going to believe anything you say," he spat in anger. Oh, what I wouldn't give to be free and set this guy straight, he thought, pulling at his restraints.

Dark Sora noticed his other self struggling. "Looks like you could use some help," he stated, flexing his right hand. A dark cloud began to form around the area as a Keyblade started to appear. I'm going to put this sap out of his misery, he thought excitedly, an evil smile appearing on his lips.

 

Roxas arched an eyebrow. "What?" he started, his voice showing his confusion. "You mean he's not out there?"

Kairi shook her head. "No."

Roxas's eyes widened slightly, not expecting this turn of events at all. Sora was gone? But...where could he be? He said he was taking care of the guards... Roxas blinked, realization hitting him.

 

Namine brought her head off of Roxas's shoulder, sitting up by herself now. She was very out of the loop; where was Sora supposed to be, and why wasn't he there? No matter how confused she was, she knew one thing for sure: Something was very, very wrong.

Sora gasped, eyeing the dark blade. He had no clue what was going to happen next. He had come close to death before, but was this going to be the real thing?

Dark Sora smiled and pointed the blade at Sora's restraints. He shot out a dark stream that unlocked the one foot, and then the other. And then he released his other person from the restraints that had bound his hands.

Sora grunted when he fell to the ground, landing on his hands and knees. He looked up at his dark self, completely confused. "Why'd you do that?" he asked in surprise. There had to be some hidden motive here....

Dark Sora smiled again, infuriating and confusing the real Sora more. "Because if I'm going to take control of your life, I need to beat you in a fair fight," he responded. "Once you're nice and weak, I'll be all that's left of you. And the best part is, nobody will know that it's not really you in your body anymore."

Sora gritted his teeth in anger. "That'll never happen!" he cried. He pushed himself up on his knees, regaining strength fairly quickly. "You'll never defeat me."

 

Roxas stared at Kairi for a moment before looking back at Namine. "I'll be back in a second, okay?" He rubbed her back once more before he moved away from the bed, walking toward Kairi's position. He stepped around her, poking his head out the door to look down the halls. Nothing. Not one sign of his Somebody.

Kairi glanced at Roxas nervously. "Where do you think he could have gone?" she asked him, fear present in her tone. "He wouldn't just leave like that without at least telling us..."

Roxas shook his head. "I dunno..." he answered honestly. His friend was missing, and that was a very unfortunate situation given that they were inside the enemy's castle.

 

Namine kept her eyes on her friends, concern written in her sky blue orbs. This was bad...very bad. She bit down harder on her lip as she slid her legs off the bed, somehow knowing that she'd have to be able to move pretty soon. Her strength was coming back slowly, and she hoped that she would be able to run if she needed to. Or stand up, for that matter.

"Light always conquers Darkness!" Sora cried as he rose to his feet, summoning two Keyblades. He wasn't about to go down...not now, not ever. This dark entity that stood in front of him was going down.

Dark Sora grunted, summoning another blade into his other hand. "I guess we'll find out," he muttered confidently. He would easily defeat the teen in front of him; he had just been tortured. He was weak and spent--it would be an easy fight.

 

There was only one option Roxas knew of, and that was to separate himself from Namine and Kairi in order to search for Sora. The boy closed his eyes, regretting this decision because it meant leaving Namine. After a second he opened his eyes, turning back to face both Namine and Kairi. "I have an idea, but it's pretty risky," he stated.

 

Namine set her hands in her lap, looking at Roxas from her spot on the bed. "What is it?" she asked, getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Sora suddenly charged forward, swinging his blades at his dark self. But Dark Sora leapt over him and avoided the blow. As he came down, he swung his blades, but Sora blocked them with the Kingdom Key. He forced Dark Sora off of him and then charged again, the fight starting for real.

 

Kairi nodded in agreement with Namine's question, urging Roxas to go on.

Roxas sighed, lowering his eyes to the floor. "It seems that things haven't really worked out in our favor, because Sora's missing," he explained. "Which means I'm gonna have to go looking for him." He looked up, his eyes finding the redhead beside him. "While I go look for Sora, Kairi, you'll have to help Namine get to the gummi ship. We can't risk having her stay here while there could be more guards, and have the possibility of them discovering you too."

 

Namine clamped her hands together, trying to hide her nervousness. She didn't like the idea of separating from Roxas, but she knew that if there were any other options, he would have said it. Things'll be alright, she told herself, trying to calm her nerves. Nothing bad is going to happen...

 

Kairi nodded, but then a question came to mind. "What about the guards on the lower levels? How will we get past them?"

"I don't think you'll have to worry about them," Roxas assured her with a small smile and a shake of his head. "There were only a few ordered to guard each floor from what I could tell, and Sora took care of them on our way up, remember?"

"Oh... Right," Kairi agreed softly, her head lowering in thought. Still, this plan was pretty risky, just like Roxas had said.

Roxas looked from Kairi to the girl across the room, his eyes locating her sky blue. He began to move his feet, making his way toward her.

 

Namine followed Roxas' movement with her eyes, not looking away. She put on her bravest face, knowing that any fear on her part would only hurt the situation. She also knew that whenever she was really, really afraid, she always avoided eye-contact. The blond girl hoped that Roxas wouldn't see the fear and uncertainty that lingered deep in her eyes.

 

Roxas slowed his pace as he got closer to the bed, the boy stopping in front of Namine. He offered his hand, accompanied by a gentle smile.

Kairi sighed softly, a part of her frightened while another was courageous. She was brave for the sake of getting out of this place and for Namine, as well as herself. She was afraid for the most important reason--Sora was gone, and she had no idea what happened to him. That scared her most of all.

 

Namine smiled faintly and lifted a hand, gently sliding into the one Roxas had extended to her. I'm going to be brave, she told herself. I'm going to be brave...I won't be weak...I'll carry my own weight...And most importantly, I won't cry...

 

Roxas wrapped his fingers securely around Namine's delicate hand, beginning to pull her up. He was gentle, aware of her condition. He didn't want anything to be too hard for her, especially after the effect the crystal had on her; it had to be pretty powerful to have caused her to fall into a coma, which was why he kept it secure in his pocket.

 

Namine stood up slowly with Roxas's help. The moment she was fully up, however, it felt as if her knees would give out on her. She gasped faintly and wrapped her free arm around Roxas, leaning into him so she wouldn't fall flat on her face.

 

Instinctively, Roxas wrapped his arm around Namine, letting her put her weight on him. It was what he was here for--to support her when she couldn't stand on her own. That came into play now, and he hugged her close to him with a sense of security, wanting her to know that he was there for her.

 

Namine fought back tears, promising herself once more that she wouldn't allow them to fall. She sniffled without thought, still leaning into Roxas, her head buried in his shoulder.. She wondered if she could do this. She would be holding Kairi back. Maybe she should just wait here...But she knew Roxas would never allow that to happen. She'd have to find the strength to go.

 

Roxas leaned his face into Namine's hair at the small sound, knowing exactly what it was. He closed his eyes, exhaling softly. The thought of him and Namine going separate ways was the last thing he wanted to think about, but he knew it had to become a reality; there was no other choice. Sora needed his help, but at the same time, so did Namine. It was such a tough decision to make, but he knew he had to choose.

Kairi watched from her place next to the door, sadness expressed through her eyes. It was evident by the stillness of the room and how the blondes were holding each other that this was going to be hard, which meant that she would have to be even stronger, that way she could help Namine with the utmost confidence. That would benefit the both of them.

 

Namine exhaled silently, staying in Roxas' arms but pulling out slightly so she could stand on her own. As comfortable as she was in his arms, she knew she had to be able to stand and move on her own. He couldn't support her if he wasn't there. Of course, Namine was thinking in a physical sense. He was always in her heart, making it so that she was never alone.

 

Roxas opened his eyes, locating Namine's face before him. He offered her a gentle smile, squeezing her hand that he still held. "Be strong," he encouraged her softly. "I'll be back with you as soon as I can." It killed him inside to have to tell her these things, because what he really wanted to tell her was that he was going with her. Unfortunately, he couldn't do that; he had to find his best friend, help him, and bring him back with him so they could all go home.