Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora went around one corner, sprinting down the next long path. He skidded a halt at one corner, seeing the girls about two levels down. And the guards were moving on them quickly. The teen growled and performed a lightning spell without thought, scaring the guards more than actually damaging them.

The guards cried out, instinctively covering their heads with their hands to avoid getting hit with the lightning bolts that rained down from who-knew where.

 

Roxas peeked over the edge as soon as Sora casted the lightning. Namine... There she was, and just lying there, unconscious. He wanted to get to her, but he wondered if Sora needed his help, especially after all he had gone through...

Her eyes darting up at the lightning, Kairi finally saw him. "Sora!" she cried in relief. "Roxas!" Finally, they were here. And just in time too.

 

Sora grunted and jumped over the edge, landing right in the middle of the pack. He attacked all three of them at once, but they rebounded pretty quickly. Still, he kept up his defense, knowing that he would be easier to take down if they even got just one hit on him.

 

Roxas locked eyes with the redhead. "Hold on, Kairi!" he called before going back a few steps. He then summoned his blades, running forward and leaping over the edge. He did a flip in the air before crashing down hard on one of the guards, striking him with his Keyblades.

Kairi watched the fight with wide eyes. She never had gotten used to observing battles; she was always afraid one of them was going to get hurt...

 

Sora smacked down the final two guards while they were preoccupied with Roxas' sudden entrance without any problems. His eyes immediately darted to the girls. Namine was unconscious, just like Kairi had warned him. "Kairi," he panted, "you alright?"

 

Kairi stood up from her place next to her friend. "Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, her tone turning sad after that. She looked down at the blonde beside her. "...But, Namine..."

Roxas summoned his blades away, rushing over to her. "What happened?" he asked, crouching down next to Namine's unconscious form. He was panting slightly, but that was expected after all the running and fighting lately.

 

Sora walked over to the girls, kneeling down beside them with Keyblade still in hand. He normally would have just stood nearby in case any more guards came, but he was still weak from everything that happened to him earlier. And this was his subtle way of regaining some energy.

 

Kairi saw the look on Roxas's face and knelt back down, her hands in her lap. "We were on our way to the staircase, just like you told me, Roxas," she began softly. "But then those three guards came rushing through, and we had to run." Kairi shook her head sadly, looking over at him. "She was feeling weak before, but then she tripped. After that, she just...collapsed. It might have been from exhaustion..." The girl bit her lip, feeling terrible that this happened. "I'm so sorry, Roxas."

Roxas brought a hand up, placing it gently on Namine's cheek. "Don't apologize, Kairi," he told her softly, his sight switching to her. "It was just an accident. I know you wouldn't have let this happen if you could have stopped it."

 

"He's right," Sora said softly, setting his free hand on Kairi's shoulder. "You kept her safe until we could come. And that means a lot." The brunette wasn't just saying this to comfort her--he meant it. Kairi had done a good job, and he was proud of her.

 

Kairi offered a weak smile to both boys, appreciating their politeness. She nodded once, understanding their ways of putting things.

Roxas stroked Namine's cheek once before letting his hand fall to rest on his knee. "Kairi, do you remember how the crystal had a heavy effect on Namine before?" he asked.

Kairi nodded slowly. "Yes..."

 

Sora tuned into the conversation without interrupting. He didn't know exactly what they were talking about, but he was sure he'd find out in the near future. For now, anyway, he wouldn't ask any stupid questions.

 

Roxas reached into his pocket before pulling his hand back out. He uncurled his fingers, revealing the broken pieces of the crystal he had placed back in his pocket before they reached the girls.

Kairi's eyes widened. "...What happened to it?" she asked, curiosity evident in her voice.

"That's the thing," Roxas said, looking up at her. "The necklace broke. It happened while I was helping Sora out." His eyes fell from Kairi to Namine and then back down to the broken crystal. "But...I can't help but think that this might've had something to do with it, with Namine's collapse."

 

Sora's heart ached for his friends. It was clear that none of them were getting out of this unscathed. Especially not Namine. Fate had a way of testing her harder than it tested anyone. He knew what that felt like...he had a rough time in the past year. And he sympathized with his friend more than anybody could realize.

 

Roxas looked up at Kairi, sensing that she didn't know what to say. His eyes then fell on Sora, who appeared lost. "When we found Namine, this crystal was placed around her neck. It was meant to cause her to fall into a coma," he explained. "And once we took it off, she woke up. But, now that it's broken... Well, it seems to have the same effect."

 

"Hmm," Sora hummed sympathetically. There wasn't much he could say in response to that--things were bad, and they all knew it. But no matter what, they all had to know that Namine would recover from this. She wasn't one to give up without a fight.

 

Kairi stared at the pieces in Roxas's hands. "What I don't understand is what that crystal's purpose really was," she admitted. "It put Namine into a coma, but why would they need her to be unconscious? What did they really want with her?"

Roxas shook his head, curling his fingers around the crystal in his hand. "I dunno..." he sighed, his worried eyes falling on the love of his life. That question had been bothering him for the longest time, and apparently he wasn't the only one wondering the same thing.

 

"...I think..." Sora stared slowly. "That they were going to try and take her ability to rearrange and create memories," he said, remembering things that happened before his torture session. "And they needed her in a coma to do that.

 

Both Kairi and Roxas looked over at Sora's statement. "What? Why would they use her powers for that?" Roxas wondered aloud. It didn't really make any sense to him. What would those men do with the power once they had it?

"How do you know that, Sora?" Kairi asked, her eyes on his bright blue.

 

Sora awkwardly rubbed the back of his head when he heard Kairi's question. He lowered his gaze and answered Roxas' inquiry first. "I don't know what they were going to do, but with that kind of power, they could have done whatever they wanted." And in response to Kairi's answer, he simply answered by saying "They told me."

 

Roxas nodded in understanding, thinking about that as he looked over at Namine. Gosh, he wished he could have protected her from this somehow. True, he did, but not enough. Look at her now, he thought. She's unconscious because of this stupid crystal...

"Oh..." Kairi said in response. But there was another thing bugging her. "Where...were you, Sora? What happened? You said you would be right behind us, but you never came."

Roxas stuffed the remains of the crystal back in his pocket. "We should get out of here," he suggested suddenly. "It's probably best to have Namine safe at home." He casted a glance at Sora before moving to pick up the blonde girl. He knew that the answer to Kairi's question wasn't a good one, and probably wouldn't be the best to share after all that had taken place.