Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return V2

Roxas let his eyes linger on Namine for a little longer before he lifted his head to look at Sora. "You ready?" he asked his friend, knowing that Riku was waiting in the other room.

 

"Yeah," Sora confirmed with a nod, facing Roxas a little bit. Mentally, he was prepared to leave and take care of this problem. Emotionally...actually, he wasn't too bad emotionally. He had learned to control his feelings, or at least put them on hold so that he would experience them later. That was better than letting them overwhelm him at a bad moment, like now would have been.

 

Roxas nodded once and his sight returned to Namine once more, the boy's eyes meeting hers. "See you soon," he told her softly. Like Riku said: if they handled this problem quickly, they would be back in about two days. It wouldn't be so bad...

Kairi lowered her eyes to the floor, her hands still linked behind her back. This was it. The boys were leaving for the Realm of Darkness.

 

Namine nodded at Roxas's words, her eyes instantly meeting his again. "See you soon," she repeated softly.

"Be back soon," Sora promised Kairi, turning his gaze toward her for a moment. He had a brave face on, just like all of his friends did. None of them knew exactly what would happen, but they all had faith that things would be alright in the end.

 

Kairi looked up, her expression soft but also serious. She needed to be strong, unlike last time when she crumbled and ran to somebody else. She wasn't going to do that this time; she couldn't imagine doing it ever again. She nodded at Sora's words, believing him. He did promise, after all.

Roxas kept his eyes on Namine for a little bit longer before he stepped past her, starting for the living room doorway. Riku was waiting, and so was the Realm of Darkness.

 

Sora lifted a hand and tucked back some of Kairi's hair, the brunet gazing into her eyes a few moments longer. By the time that his hand came back to his side, though, he knew that he needed to go. He forced himself to look away from Kairi as he turned around, exiting the room after Roxas.

 

Kairi turned around a little bit to follow Sora with her eyes, seeing Roxas exit the room already. She bit her lip, but otherwise held back any thoughts. She didn't want to think about anything, not right now.

Riku leaned against the wall by the door, arms crossed and head bowed. His eyes were closed, but he opened them when he heard movement to his side. He turned his head and peered from behind his silver bangs to see Roxas, taking that as a sign that he was done and Sora was sure to follow.

Roxas walked toward the door, where Riku was. He forgot his jacket that was hanging up, knowing that he wouldn't need it where he was going. He stopped near the door, turning around halfway to look back the way he came, waiting for Sora.

 

Sora came into the room, his eyes landing on Roxas and Riku. He gave Riku a faint nod; he was ready to go. It was time to get a move on an dtake care of this theat before it grew too large to contain.

 

Riku nodded once and pushed himself off the wall. He turned to his side and grasped the door handle and pulled the door open, leading the way out. He stepped out onto the porch, hearing footsteps behind him.

Roxas turned around and started after Riku, stepping out of Namine's home and leaving the door for Sora to shut when he came out as well. He needed to push back his emotions about leaving and mentally prepare himself for what lied ahead. The Realm of Darkness was more dangerous than the last mission he was on; he had to focus.

 

Sora walked out last, shutting the door behind him when he was in the cool NYC air. He looked down at the ground, eyebrows furrowed as he thought over the Realm of Darkness. He didn't know what was in store for them there, but he was ready to fight.

 

Kairi lowered her eyes to the floor once she heard the door close, nothing but silence in Namine's home now. Sora, Riku, and Roxas were gone now, and all she and Namine could really do was have faith that they would return.

 

A while later...

Sora stepped out of the Gummi Ship, the Kingdom Key and Lion Heart in his hands already. He felt like his senses were overwhelmed by the present darkness, but that wasn't surprising, considering where they were. He stopped walking a few feet away, scanning the area for any threat. However, he couldn't see anything more than twenty feet away, and he couldn't sense anything either.

 

Roxas followed Sora off the ship, but he was stunned by how black it was. He could hardly see anything, and he summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion to him at the realization. If he couldn't see more than few feet in front of him, then he definitely had to be prepared.

Riku walked off the ship last, stepping off the ramp and moving a few feet forward. He stopped a few feet behind Sora, looking around. He made a sound of disgust. "I forgot how creepy this place was," he said, his eyes already starting to adjust to the darkness. It had been almost two years since he'd even walked in the Realm of Darkness, but he was used to dealing with it. That was why his eyes were adjusting so easily.

 

Sora kept his eyes forward, blinking when his eyes weren't adjusting to the darkness. "And I forgot just how much the darkness blocks your senses," he said, tightening his grip on the Keyblades without thought. He had been here once, when Maleficent had saved him, Donald, and Goofy in Hollow Bastion. He forced that thought behind him, though, looking around again. He couldn't see well, and he couldn't sense if there was a threat nearby. That was an awful combination.

 

Riku walked forward, passing Sora as he thought about his friend's words. "You get used to it after a while," he said, his tone somewhat bitter. He had been trapped in here for a while, but thankfully he got away. He had to admit that it was scary, especially when he got separated from the King and had to go on alone. That was terrifying, but the experience made him stronger. Now, all he held for this place was hatred.

 

Sora looked to Riku, a little surprised at the bitterness. Regardless, he started forward quickly before catching up to Riku, staying on a few steps behind him. There was no way he was going to get separated from his friends in a place like this, especially when he didn't know what to watch out for.

 

Roxas turned his head to gaze in the direction of Riku's voice, able to see him within the proximity he was in. He quickly caught up to him and Sora, not wanting to lose sight of them. That would be bad. "You mean you can see?" he asked. It was hard for Roxas to see beyond ten or fifteen feet. How far could Riku see?

"Unfortunately. It's not exactly a pretty picture around here," Riku said, his eyes now fully adjusted. He could see quite a distance in front of him. However, he didn't see any threats yet, which was why he didn't have his blade in his hand.

 

Sora blinked, looking around even though he still couldn't see far distances. "You think our eyes will adjust too?" he asked, hoping that Riku would say "yes". If he and Roxas wanted to be of significant assistance, then they needed to be able to see well enough to fight whatever was causing the darkness to grow stronger.

 

"Eventually," Riku said, glancing over his shoulder to look at Sora. "Until then, trust your instincts and listen. This place may leave you blind for a little bit, but you're not completely incapable of protecting yourself." He turned his head forward as he said this, eyes roaming the area in front of them for any Heartless.

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows at Riku's words, though he understood them. Okay, so rely on his hearing and natural instincts until he could see. No big deal. He was just grateful he could see a little bit.

 

Sora nodded, staying silent now. He would have to be overly cautious until he fully regained his senses, but like Riku said, he was still capable of defending himself. Besides, at least one person in the group could see and sense things. It was fortunate that Riku had those advantages, even if his time in the Realm of Darkness had been unpleasant in the past.