Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora met Roxas's eyes and gave him a firm nod. Things weren't going to end this way; they weren't going to lose their friend. He waited for one more moment before he took his hand off of Roxas's shoulder and walked to the ship. He kicked the man's body away from the pilot's door so that he could get it.

Black turned out of the ship storage room and down into another hall in their extravagant castle. It reminded him of a place he had once been before--The Castle That Never Was. But this place was far grander than that dump. And, of course, they would be able to complete their plan here.

Namine moved her head slightly, starting to come to when Ross lifted her out of her seat. But she was far too out of it to do anything about her situation.

 

Roxas trailed Sora with his eyes before turning to Kairi. He gently urged her on with his hand, pressing it against her upper back. As she moved on to follow Sora, Roxas looked back up into the air, summoning his Keyblades away. Namine... he thought. I'll be there soon.

Ross walked along the floor of his home world, silently following Black throughout the castle.

 

Sora climbed into the pilot's seat, immediately buckling himself in. It had been a while since he flew a gummi ship, but he didn't feel confused at all over the controls. The memories of his journeys had never left him, and he doubt they ever would.

Black turned around another corner, and then another less than a minute later. And then he saw his destination. He opened the door and smiled when he saw two guards were already waiting for him. It was a large but simple room, only having a bed, an end table, and a small box on that table. The contents would be revealed later to his witch.

 

Roxas joined his friends inside the ship, buckling himself into one of the seats, letting Sora take control of their travel. But...how would they know where to go? The amount of worlds out there was endless.

Ross released a silent breath, glancing down at the girl in his arms before refocusing on his destination. He walked into the room, immediately going to set the girl on the bed.

 

Namine curled her hand into a fist, grunting softly. She felt the man carrying her coming to a slow stop, but again, she could do nothing to change the situation. She had no idea what was going on anymore, anyway.

Sora tapped on a monitor, the screen immediately coming up. His eyes widened slightly, but then he chuckled. It wasn't a laugh of amusement, it was more like how surprised he was. "These guys really weren't expecting us to get a hold of a ship," he breathed. "They've got their planet on auto-warp."

 

"Good. The faster we get to Namine, the better." Roxas looked out the front of the ship, dead set on getting Namine away from those men.

Ross laid Namine down carefully on the bed. Injuring her was not going to help them reach their goal; if anything, it would make it worse.

 

Sora nodded in agreement before turning to his side to look at Roxas, and then behind him to look at Kairi. They were both buckled in their seats. He took a deep breath; it was time to go. "Everyone ready?"

Namine opened her eyes slowly, feeling herself on something solid. A bed. She slowly sat herself up, seeing Black, Ross, and two other guards staring at her. "What's going on?" she asked softly, her voice sounding surprisingly calm. Fear wasn't going to do anything but cloud her senses, so she tried to keep it away as long as she could.

Black smiled widely. "It seems we underestimated her courage," he said to Ross. "This girl isn't even trembling with fear like we expected."

 

Kairi nodded, her eyes on Sora. She was ready to get her best friend back, and she was going to help anyway she could.

Roxas gave one firm nod in confirmation. They were going to get Namine back, and he wasn't going to leave or give up until she was back in his arms.

Ross reached up and pulled the ski-mask off his face, fresh air meeting his skin. His short brown hair was slightly messy from the removal of the mask. He crossed his arms, smirking. "Well I suppose so," he said. "Perhaps that's why Smith and Carter couldn't finish the job." His tone when he spoke of the two was grave, his green eyes piercing at the thought of the men's failure.

 

Sora nodded once more. "Alright, hold on." He clicked a few more buttons on the touch screen before setting his hand on a stick similar to that you would use to change gears. He mentally counted to three in his head before he pulled it back, sending the ship into warp mode.

Namine froze at one of the names, fear and dismay coming into her heart. "Smith?" she breathed.

Black turned his attention back to Namine and nodded. "Yes. I'm sure you remember him. We are the ones who hired him and his partner." His voice turned grave as he continued. "But at the end, he was only concerned with revenge. He no longer cared about capturing the princess."

Namine looked from Black to Ross, and then back to Black as he continued speaking. With each word he spoke, her heart ached a little more.

"But his obsession did teach us something," he continued. "It taught us that taking the princess by force was a stupid move. And we no longer need her, because if we have control of someone else, then we control her and all your friends."

 

Roxas was forced back into his seat when the ship took off, the warp sudden and fast. He was blinded by white light as they traveled through the universe.

Kairi kept her eyes closed at the bright light, knowing they would reach their destination in seconds.

Ross shrugged. "Who needs a princess with untapped powers when we can have someone with experienced control of her own abilities?" he wondered aloud, his eyes flicking from Black to Namine.

 

Namine blinked, turning her gaze back to Ross. "You're talking about my ability to control memories?"

In a matter of seconds, the white light disapeared and Sora saw that they were flying right by the planet. Not flying, really, but floating. With a click, he saw something new appear on his screen: landing destinations. There were five choices. Which one should I pick...? he wondered.

 

Roxas noticed that they weren't moving anymore, his form now relaxed. Sensing some hesitation, he looked to Sora. "What's up?"

Ross smirked, his eyes finding Black again. He arched an eyebrow, impressed. "Clever girl," he said.

 

Namine stiffened in surprise. These men...they weren't hurting her and they weren't openly saying their motives. It was confusing, and she didn't know exactly what to do in the conversation. So she said what was on her mind. "Well," she started, "you must know that I'll never do anything for you. Even if you hurt me, I'll never mess around with my friends' memories."

Black nodded. Yes, yes, they already knew that. They wouldn't run a whole operation on the chance that Namine would POSSIBLY help them out. If they could force her to. Because it was obvious that she wouldn't on her own free will. "We know that."

"...I...don't know where to land," Sora said slowly. "They have a few options here, two of them being located near a castle. The rest are random places on the planet." Namine's location would depend on where the other ship landed. And as long as they didn't know that, then they would be delayed by searching more ground. Unless they got lucky and chose the right landing station, of course.

 

Roxas sighed, but closed his eyes at another intake of breath. He had to remain calm; if he was too frantic, he would make unwise decisions, which could lead to the worse for Namine. The boy sat there quietly, trying to see if his intincts would kick in, like they usually did in these kinds of situations.

Ross stared at the blonde girl for a moment. He and Black had already figured she wouldn't give in so easily; Smith's progress with the girl showed them that much. "That's why we have our own way of handling things," he said. "Violence isn't the answer for us. We usually result to something simpler." At the mention, he looked to Black, as if to say, Time for the accessory?

 

Sora shut his eyes, trying to think. He was sure it was the castle--it just seemed to him that villains liked those types of places. But which place should he go, the landing station on the lower level or the one a few stories up?

Namine remained silent--Ross's words confused her greatly. If they weren't going to be violent, then how would they hope to control her? Threats toward her friends? Even then, she knew it was better for her friends if she didn't mess with their memories. Nothing like that could force her to give in, and these men seemed to know that.

Black nodded to Ross before turning back to the girl on the bed. "We use technology to harness power," he started. "We take the ability away from a person and then use it ourselves. It takes away the hassle of negotiation."

 

After a moment of silence, Roxas opened his eyes, looking to Sora. "The castle," he stated. "It has to be. How many boarding docks are there?"

Ross nodded once and took a step over to the end table, opening the box. Reaching inside, he pulled his arm back, now holding a necklace in his grasp. He held it by its chain, a special crystal dangling from it.

 

Sora opened his eyes and looked at the monitor even though he already knew the answer. "Two."

Namine instinctively cowered back from the necklace. "What is that?" she asked softly. The bravery that had been present the rest of the conversation was staring to fade away as she realized the extreme severity of the situation.

"A necklace Carter made," Black responded. "It was an experimental project that put its subjects into a coma until their power could be harvested through another machine." He shook his head slightly, saddened that Carter couldn't see the brilliance in his own invention. "It's a shame he never thought to utilize it."

 

Roxas leaned over a little in his seat, peeking to get a look at the monitor. His eyebrows furrowed at the sight of the two docks. "Upper level and lower level?" he checked. How were they supposed to decide on that?

Ross looked from Black to Namine. "We thought we could put the necklace to use, especially on someone like you," he told her. "The Nobody of a Princess of Heart, a witch that has the power over others memories. Carter would be proud to know we've been given the chance to use it on someone with such unique abilities."

 

Namine's eyes widened. "No," she said, panicking. "I won't let you near me with that thing."

Black shook his head. "You don't have a choice in the matter," he said simply. He turned to the two men standing beside him. "Hold her down."

Namine gasped as she saw them coming closer to her. One grabbed onto her right arm before she could react. She tried to punch the other one, but he merely took a hold of her fist and kept her still. "No!" she cried out.

"If we go too high," Sora thought aloud, "we may miss her floor entirely. But if we're too low, we'll have to do some extra searching. Unless she is on a lower floor..." he trailed off, trying to figure out what the best solution was. Ultimately, though, it was up to Roxas. It was his girlfriend at stake, after all.

 

Ross's lips formed a firm line as he approached the girl. He unlinked the chain before slipping it around Namine's neck, attaching the two ends on the other side. The necklace now securely in place, he carefully let the crystal rest on Namine's form, knowing the power within the item would only take moments to take control.

There was something within Roxas telling him to take the higher floor, but another part of him told him to go lower. "If we go lower, we could possibly trace their steps and follow them," he started, eyes on the screen. He then pointed to the higher landing point. "But if we get off here, we could most likely meet them on their way up. That is, if they're going up." There were only two choices to choose from, but one could have a much different outcome than the other.