Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Namine's fingers twitched slightly at the touch and the voice. Both of these things...she recognized them without hesitation. Now if she could only put a name to it....She fought harder to regain consciousness despite the fact that her body only wanted to fall into an empty slumber again.

Sora grunted, his knees giving out on him at the blow. He shut his eyes, desperately fighting to keep his grip on reality. Then, however, he wondered why he was holding on so much? Slumber could relieve him of the pain...The teen clenched his eyes shut more tightly. Snap out of it, man! he thought frantically.

Black smirked and waved two men forward, who took Sora away from Ross. Each grabbed onto one arm and dragged him over toward the machine, which was on an upright position against the wall. In a matter of moments, they had his arms hooked up, making it look like he was hanging on a cross. And then the strapped his feet onto it, the two about a foot away from each other.

 

Kairi watched quietly, trying to see a reaction. "Is she waking up?" she asked softly, not able to keep the question inside. She had to find out if Roxas was thinking the same thing.

Roxas shook his head in uncertainty. "I don't know," he replied, his eyes glued to Namine's form. He hoped she would, because it really did seem that the necklace had an affect on her moments before. Now that it was off, he got a strong grasp of faith, hoping it would prove to him that she was okay.

Ross watched from his spot as the men handled Sora, the man putting his gun in its place on his belt.

 

Namine didn't do anything, the fight mental more than it was physical. Her body didn't even appear to be breathing anymore. that was because her heart (which really did exist) was fighting to bring her out of this before she slipped and lost what little grip she had on reality.

Sora weakly lifted his head and opened his eyes. His sight was blurred at first, but a few blinks corrected the problem. Black was standing directly in front of him, a pleased smirk on his lips.

"Now Sora," Black started. "We know that you must not be here alone. But for now, we're only going to be concerned with you. We'll let your friends hold onto the tiny bit of hope they still have."

Sora glared at the man, anger and determination present in his bright blue eyes. "You'll never win," he said, his speech slurred at first. He shook his head slightly and then continued. "Good always triumphs over evil."

Black shook his head. "Actually, evil will always triumph because good is stupid."

 

Roxas felt his eyes soften more with concern. "Namine, come on," he urged her softly. "You can do this; you can fight this. Just, please... Wake up." He lowered his head sadly. "Please, Namine," he begged gently. "Please wake up." After a moment of silence, Roxas brought his face closer to hers. "...I love you," he finally whispered. He waited for a response, but when he didn't get one, he did what he had been wanting to do since he finally found her--he let his lips meet hers.

Ross watched from a few feet away, his arms crossed as he observed the scene. The boy doesn't even know what he's in for, he thought with a smirk.

 

Namine felt something warm near her...a presence that finally had a name. Roxas. She gasped softly, taking in a breath that wasn't her open. A faint cough left her lips, her eyes opening a crack before falling shut again. Just give me one moment, Roxas, she pleaded mentally.

Sora gritted his teeth. Alright, so he had made one mistake. That didn't mean he was stupid. And he was about to say that to Black, but the evil man spoke first.

Black turned to two men by the computer than ran the machine. "Start it," he ordered. "Keep it on low for now." One of the men nodded and turned the dial, starting an electric shock. Sora cried out, and Black smirked at his pain.

 

Roxas gently pulled back at the faint sound, his eyes widening as he looked at the girl before him. "...Namine?" he whispered, his eyes glued to her. Her color was almost to its natural tone, her cheeks rosier.

Ross felt his smirk widen into a smile at the painful cry.

 

Namine forced her eyes open, gazing at Roxas through half-open eyes. "Roxas?" she asked in a hushed tone. She still felt very weak, but now she wouldn't allow herself to fall into the slumber again. She had a firm grip on reality, even though she was confused. How was she awake? And how was Roxas here, looking her in the eye...?

Black's men turned off the machine a few seconds later at his request. He approached Sora's trembling body, trying to make eye-contact with the boy. "Sora," he started. Then he changed his mind as to what name he would use to address the teen. "Wretched Keyblade bearer," he started again. "This machine was specifically made to suck the power out of somebody when they were in a coma. I don't know what this will do to you...but I'll have a lot of fun watching it." He turned to face his men again and nodded, the machine starting up again at a higher level.

Sora fought the urge to cry out, but he couldn't suppress it. That pain....it felt like it was burning his flesh. He shut his eyes tightly as it went on, trying to stay focused and think of a way to get out of this. No ideas came to him.

 

"Namine," Roxas breathed. He smiled slightly. "I'm so glad you're alright." He let his hand travel across her forehead, sweeping her bangs to the side. He felt his shoulders relax at the sight of her eyes. He missed them, and was glad to see them looking back into his.

Kairi smiled in relief. Her best friend was awake, and appeared to be without harm.

 

Namine gave Roxas a weak smile, a thousand questions running through her tired mind. But she allowed them to go unanswered--seeing Roxas there with her was enough. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something red. She shifted her gaze and saw that her best friend was in the room as well. "Kairi," she breathed, relieved to see that she was alright after the store robbery.

 

Kairi smiled softly. "How are you feeling?" she asked, concern evident in her voice. After the robbery and the kidnapping, she was curious as to how her friend was doing. It had to be overwhelming.

Roxas kept his eyes glued to Namine, not wanting to look away. But he leaned back a little, giving her some space.

 

Namine looked back at Roxas for a brief moment before looking at Kairi again. Honesty is the best policy, right? she thought, considering her answer. "I'm alright," she responded softly. "Just weak....how'd you guys figure out it was the necklace? How did you get here?" By the end of her speaking, Namine let her eyes shut again for a few seconds before opening them again. The weakness was so overwhelming, but she knew she couldn't give into it.

 

"We hijacked the second gummi ship at the mall," Roxas began, answering her second question. "The coordinates were already set, so we followed you here. Thankfully in time, too, because you aren't hurt." He smiled weakly at her before glancing at the redhead beside him. "As for the necklace, Kairi was the one who felt it had some control over you. You two are connected, after all," he told the blonde girl, his smile widening a little.

Kairi looked at Roxas before finding her best friend. She nodded, supporting Roxas's story.

 

Namine smiled weakly to both of her friends. She shouldn't have underestimated their will power; she just didn't have a clue before how they would follow her...Ah, but that was in the past now. Namine set her hands on the bed and started pushing herself up slowly. She got a few inches up before she had to stop, unable to move anymore at that moment.

Black, having just turned off the machine from its fourth run, walked up to Sora. "Had enough?" he sneered. "Just give in--you're going to die anyway."

Sora glared at the man, eyes tired but determined. "In case you forgot..." he started slowly. "I don't go down easily." Not while I still have life in me, he thought. And not while I have a reason to fight.

 

Roxas gently placed his hand on Namine's shoulder. "You alright?" he asked in concern. Her well-being was very important to him, and he wanted to make sure she was okay.

Kairi kept her eyes on the blonde couple, but she got an uneasy feeling in her heart. Seeing them reminded her of someone. Kairi gasped, her eyes darting toward the door. Sora... Where was he?

Ross rolled his eyes. Did the kid pay any attention? "Look at the position you're in, kid," he snapped. "You're not going to be leaving easily."

 

Namine nodded faintly. "Yeah...I just got tired...that's all." She hated to admit it, but there was no point in trying to avoid the truth. Especially considering where they were and what had happened. I may need some help sitting up, she thought weakly. She hated that she was so needy at that moment, but she knew it wasn't because of her--it was because of that necklace.

Sora turned his gaze to the other man. "I know perfectly well what the situation is," he said coolly. "And I know that no matter how hard you try to kill me, it's going to take a while."

Black smirked. "Well then, we'll just have to set the machine on full throttle to make it go quicker." On cue, the men jacked up the dial to dangerously high and turned it on.

Sora let out terrible scream, unable to even contain any of the control he had moments ago. The pain was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Was he about to die...?

 

Roxas moved his arm from Namine's shoulder to her back, ready to support her in case she fell back. He was there to help her, no matter what.

Kairi glanced at the two blondes to make sure everything was okay before her sight fell back on the door. It had been a while since she had seen Sora, and he had promised her he would be right behind them. But where was he now?

Ross kept his arms crossed, but he couldn't help but close his eyes at the scream, the cry so loud it hurt his ears. This kid was in for the worst, that much he knew.

 

Namine shifted her gaze downward as she bit down on her lip. She held her breath and started pushing herself up again, feeling Roxas' supportive hand on her back.

Black covered his ears at Sora's horrible scream. But he didn't make the machine stop. He knew that Sora was a goner whether he turned it off or not. Suddenly, the computer started to spark, and then it suddenly exploding, taking out all the men in the room in a great ball of fire.

Sora gasped for air when the electrical shocking stopped. He felt the heat of the fire, but it wasn't close enough to be lapping at his body. He grunted and started pulling again, his arms feeling looser than they had been before. His efforts, however, stopped completely when he saw somebody new in front of him.

 

Roxas helped Namine the best he could, staying where he was and acting as her support. He knew that she understood that he was always there for her, especially by the way she kept trying.

Kairi glanced at the couple. "I'll be right back," she told them, then walking away from the bed in the room and approaching the door. She put her hands on the frame, peeking around it to try and find Sora.

 

Once Namine was fully upright, she leaned her head on Roxas' shoulder without thought. She sighed softly and allowed her eyes to flicker shut as she tried to regain some of the energy she had before her coma.

Sora blinked several times, smoke in his eyes. No, he thought. It can't be.... "Who are you?" he cried out, shocked at who he saw in front of him.

Dark Sora smiled warmly. "You of all people should know," he responded. The teen ran a hand through his dark, spiky hair, silverish blue eyes glowing. "I'm you."

 

Roxas slowly ran his hand along Namine's back, exhaling softly. He was so thankful she was awake now, and most of all, safe now that she was with him. He would protect her at all costs now that he had her back.

Kairi looked down both directions of the hall, seeing no sign of him. "Hey, Roxas?" she called quietly, poking her head back in.

"What's up?" Roxas replied softly, aware that they were still in enemy territory.

"Where's Sora?" Kairi asked, her tone worried. He wasn't with them, like he promised he would be.