Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Black grunted. "Then start looking at the jewelry. Pick the best--we have to travel light," he said with a wink."

Namine stopped nibbling on her lip and opened her eyes, looking toward the opposite side of the store. They'll leave once they have what they want, she thought optimistically. There's nothing to be afraid of...

Sora kept an eye on the men, being careful not to make eye-contact. If they sensed him as a threat, then he was as good as dead. He needed to act afraid so they wouldn't target him. But at the same time, he needed to be brave for Kairi. What should I do? he wondered.

Police men gathered outside the store, hiding behind large plants. The chief grabbed a megaphone and spoke into it. "This is the police! Show us your hands and put down your weapons; this doesn't have to end violently."

 

Ross simply chuckled at the policeman's words. Shaking his head, he started grabbing random pieces of jewelry. Out of the corner of his eye he saw their target, the poor thing fearing them. Oh, she thought they were scary now...

Kairi's heart beat rapidly in her chest. For the moment she focused on Sora's hand on her back, concentrating on his touch and that alone. If she distracted herself, she would not only avoid attracting attention to herself, but also make this whole thing go by faster. It would be over sooner.

Roxas swallowed hard, getting an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. In the back of his mind he knew that the police wouldn't be able to do a thing. There was something fishy going on here... If the guys wanted to really rob the store, they would have been in and out in a hurry. But they were taking their time... What was going on here?

 

"Keep your men back!" Black called calmly. "We have hostages. You attack us and we'll start killing them one by one.

Namine started nibbling on her lip again, nervous that the police may do more harm than good. She didn't trust them--she only trusted her friends.

"Stay calm," the chief said. "Let's talk this out."

Talking is good, Sora thought to himself. It could buy him some time to come up with an idea.

"Okay, I'll talk," Black said. He allowed everyone's hopes to soar until he spoke again. "In five minutes, I expect a clear exit from the store. We'll be taking some hostages with us. Follow us and they die. Leave us alone and we'll allow them to live."

 

Kairi let out a silent breath, heavy with crushed hopes and fear. When was this going to end? Five minutes, and with hostages? She was afraid one of her friends would be taken, but she could only hold onto the remaining hope within her and pray that wouldn't happen.

Roxas inhaled quietly, trying to keep his anger under control. These people reminded him of someone... Someone he hated.

 

The police outside were silent--just as Black had hoped. The people of this world had a bad habit of ticking him off, but at least it wasn't too bad today. The cops knew when to back off. This would be over in much less than five minutes.

Namine subconsciously gripped Roxas's hand a little more tightly. She didn't think she would be taken away from her friends--after all, why would they risk separating them when they had other hostages they could take? Causing more trouble than necessary didn't make sense to her.

Sora exhaled heavily through his nose. There was nothing he could do now. The only thing he could do was wait it out and hope nothing terrible happened.

 

Ross risked a glance in a certain direction, spotting the target, and then turned his attention to his comrade. "Black," he called, gesturing with his eyes that they should get going with the plan. Now that the police seemed to be cooperating, it was time to get this show on the road.

Kairi finally looked up, seeing Sora out of the corner of her eye and the men gathered around one side of the store. What were they doing? Didn't they have what they wanted?

Roxas drew in a breath at the squeeze of his hand. He would protect her at all costs, no matter what.

 

Black nodded. "You two here, and you three there, stand up. You're coming with." The customers nodded and slowly rose to their feet in front of him, showing no threat.

Sora kept his eyes on the man who was apparently Black. They were leaving? Just like that? Why'd they go through all the effort of keeping them in if this was going to end so quickly?

Black pretended to count his men, and then shook his head, tisking. "We'll need one more hostage," he declared. He casually walked past the five selected ones and acted as if he were scanning all his options. His eyes landed on Namine. "You," he said, pointing unmistakably at her. "You're coming with us. Stand up."

 

Kairi covered her mouth in shock, her head turned in the direction of her best friend. No... They were taking Namine?!

Roxas's eyes widened greatly, alarmed. His grip on Namine's hand instantly tightened. No, they couldn't take Namine with them. He wouldn't allow it.

 

Sora gritted his teeth in frustration. He would offer himself for her in a heartbeat, but that would only result in a bullet to the chest. And that wouldn't do anyone any good. He stared helplessly at his friends, powerless to do anything.

Namine swallowed and forced herself to nod once. "I'll go," she said bravely. She wasn't pleased about it, but she had no other choice. And besides, they'd let her go as soon as they were in the clear.

Black smiled at the blond girl. Apparently she was very courageous. But that really didn't matter in the long run.

 

Roxas faced Namine, shock written all over his features. She was actually going to give in? His grip tightened on her hand. "Namine," he said without thought, his voice showing his worry and fear for her safety.

At the blond boy's voice, Ross adjusted his gun, finger on the trigger. The other fools couldn't do the job, but he and Black sure could.

 

Namine forced a small smile. "I'll be fine," she said softly. "They just want to get out of here--they'll let me go." Before he could respond, she pulled her hand out of his and slowly stood up. For his sake, she couldn't let him speak again. She had seen a man fingering his trigger out of the corner of her eye, and she wasn't going to let Roxas get shot.

Black grabbed Namine by the arm and pulled her up with him. He turned to the rest of his men and nodded. "Let's go," he said. All of them grabbed onto a hostage and forced them in front of them, as if they were human shields. Namine was treated no differently.

 

The guardian within Roxas kicked in, and he had to fight off the urge to run after this man Black to get Namine back. He tried to believe her words through the panic he was experiencing, but couldn't bring himself to.

Kairi's eyes saddened immediately after the man started walking away with Namine. She looked back at Roxas, and at the expression his eyes held she knew he was having a harder time than anyone. It hurt her to notice.

 

Namine blinked back tears, feeling the cool end of the gun against her temple. But she knew wasn't the time to panic. She was protecting her friends, and all these innocent people. If she overreacted, all of them would. And they would all die.

One of the men went to the gate and punched in a code, opening the gate. And then, just like that, Black lead Namine out of the store, using her as his "shield".

Sora kept his eyes on the men when they headed out. One of them talked in low tones to another, and Sora couldn't help but overhear them. Well, not completely, but he caught the gist of it. Gummi Ships. These men weren't from this world. His heart beat rapidly, his eyes widening. Did his friends hear it too?

 

Roxas watched painfully as Black took Namine, the coward using her as his shield. The anger within him was boiling, and it hadn't been that way since he was alive. But then, that madness vanished. The words "gummi ship" were enough for him to know what was going on.

Kairi slowly began to sit up, quietly sitting on her knees now. This wasn't happening, not again. A gummi ship was the source for the men getting here, she assumed. And it was their only way out.

Ross held the rear of the group, gun pointed at the head of the man he was guiding. Yeah, like he wanted anything to do with this guy. The one Black had was their main goal, and now that they had her in their grasp, it was cake.

 

Black knew the police weren't following them. The police figured they'd track them once they released the hostages. Heh, like that was going to happen. Where they were going, they couldn't be followed. Black led his girl around a corner and kept walking a little ways before stopping. The ships were right around the corner.

Namine bit her lip when Black turned her around. She saw the rest of the goons and thugs coming toward her. A bit of confusion mixed with hope washed over her. They were letting them go right there and then? Thank goodness.

As soon as the last thug, left the store, Sora rose to his feet. "Did you guys hear that?" he asked frantically, his eyes darting from Kairi to Roxas.

 

"They've got a gummi ship," Roxas stated, his voice holding a mix of fear and panic. They took Namine, and by the way the man looked at her, they weren't going to let her go. The thought made Roxas freeze, his eyes wide and staring at the way they had left.

Kairi stood up, shaking from shock. She didn't say anything, to paralyzed with fear from both the action and for her best friend.

Ross smirked as soon as they rounded the corner. Yup, piece of cake. All they needed to do now was get rid of these other fools.

 

"We gotta move," Sora said seriously, trying to keep his cool for the sake of his friends. "Now."

Black turned to look at all the terrified hostages. "You may all leave," he said with a smile. "Thank you for not fighting us." One by one, the people started to run past Black, down the hall and out of the building. But Black didn't release Namine.

Namine looked at the men in front of her, confused by the lust in their eyes. "What about me?" she asked, sounding very innocent. But she had a feeling she wasn't going to be released at all. And that thought made her heart skip a few beats.

 

Roxas didn't question anything; he didn't even speak. The panic turned into anger, that anger beginning to form into a familiar wrath. He furrowed his eyebrows and gritted his teeth, immediately taking off into a run, passing his friends and heading in the direction Black had taken Namine.

Kairi watched Roxas leave before she glanced at Sora. Without a word she nodded, following after Roxas.

 

Sora ran after his friends, brown bangs bouncing over his eyes with each step. He just hoped they weren't too late...

As soon as Namine felt the cold barrel of the gun leave her head, she made her move. She knelt down and swept at Black's ankles, knocking him over. It was a simple defense move that Roxas taught her a while ago. But it was only defense--she couldn't stand up against all the men. So she ran.

Black grunted, kneeling on the ground after Namine's kick. "After her!" he growled, picking up the gun off the ground. The girl had spunk, but it wasn't going to do her any good.

 

Ross, having been at the rear, sprinted after the target. He kept his gun in one hand, but didn't dare shoot at the girl; she was there target, and killing her would be a grave mistake, especially for their goal.

Roxas's jaw was clamped shut as he ran, his speed picking up as the thoughts collided in his mind. Namine, she was in danger, and he had vowed to keep her safe. He was breaking that promise, and it killed him inside at the realization. He only hoped that the guys wouldn't be rough with her. True, he had taught her a few things over the past few months, but he didn't believe it was enough to fight the men off entirely.