Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return V2

Riku knelt down on one knee next to Sora, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Sora?" he said, worry evident in his tone. He watched his friend with startled eyes, not sure of what was happening.

 

Sora opened his eyes and looked over at Riku, the pain evident in his eyes. Whatever that thing did, it had a very lasting effect. Not only that, but it continued to grow in intensity. He could tell by Riku's tone that his friend had never seen the Heartless cause this kind of damage, so that frightened him a bit. He gripped his head more tightly, a soft grunt of pain leaving his lips.

 

Riku gasped softly at the look on Sora's face. What was going on? He had never witnessed the illusion Heartless deal this kind of damage. He had fought them alongside the King once, and he was the one who had told him to be cautious. This was a first, and it was bad that this was happening to his best friend. There was one thing Riku knew for sure: he was scared.

 

Sora diverted his gaze to the ground at Riku's soft gasp, eyebrows furrowed at the pain. It felt like something was still trying to knock him unconscious, but he was holding onto reality anyway, fearing what could happen if he lost consciousness. Obviously Riku didn't know what was happen, but was there anybody else that could know what was happening? Any of his knowledgeable friends in other worlds? Maybe Leon would know something...

 

Riku's hand tightened on Sora's shoulder. However, he knew that he needed to stay calm; that would help both him and Sora. "Breathe through it," he instructed lowly, moving over in the snow so he could lift Sora from under his arms. "I'm getting you inside." Whoever was inside the workshop could probably help. Maybe.

 

Sora grunted, that being his way of telling Riku he understood what he was saying. He tried to calm his expression, though he couldn't take away the pain that showed. It was so bad that he didn't know if he could move. Everything felt distant, like everything was more of a dream than reality. But, unlike a dream, he was feeling the pain. And the pain was unending at that moment, making him want to scream or cry out.

 

Riku lifted Sora from his underarms and carefully moved one of his friend's arms around his neck and shoulders, wrapping his own arm around Sora's side and gripping his wrist. He hoisted Sora up and then started walking through the snow, back toward the workshop.

 

Sora hung his head, eyes open only a crack as Riku assisted him. The hand that was around Riku's shoulders was a fist while the other one continued to grip his head tightly. Whatever was going on, he hoped that it would end soon. He had never experienced this kind of mental anguish before, and he hoped he would never go through it again. In the back of his mind, he wondered exactly what Riku had in mind and how they would solve this problem.

 

Riku exited the area and saw the carousel, the workshop in view as well. He continued onward, holding Sora up. He was going to help him get through this. He wouldn't do anything but.

 

Sora winced, feeling as if he were half-conscious for a second. Whatever was going on in his head had nothing to do with his mental troubles of seeing the Heartless for what they were. That thing must have cast some sort of spell, a spell that lingered long after the Heartless was defeated. It seemed as if only heavy magic could make it disappear, but he didn't know anybody in this world capable of performing healing magic that strong.

 

Riku made his way through the snow slowly, being careful due to Sora's condition. He saw the light from the workshop windows shining onto the snow outside, which meant somebody was inside. Whoever it was, he was hoping they could help. If they couldn't, he wouldn't have any choice but to take Sora to the King; he would know what to do, unlike Riku. "Hang in there, buddy," he told Sora softly, adjusting his grasp on his friend.

 

Sora grunted, which translated into "I'm trying". It was hard to stay aware of his surroundings with the awful pounding in his head, but he wasn't allowing himself to lose consciousness. He feared that being in that state would be even worse than what he was experiencing now, if that were even possible.

 

Riku approached the door, remembering that this had been the first sighting of the illusion Heartless. He furrowed his eyebrows and held onto Sora tighter with his arm, letting his hand that had been clutching Sora's wrist open the door. Light immediately poured onto him, but he readjusting his grip on Sora and stepped into the workshop.

 

"Ah," Sora gasped, light impacting him hard. He moved his hand from the side of his head to his forehead, using it to cover his eyes despite the fact that he shut them the moment he saw the light. He gritted his teeth, feeling more pain than he had before. He had just questioned whether that was possible or not, and he just found out that, indeed, it could get worse.

 

Riku continued onward, though he heard Sora's pain. That only pushed him further, the older boy wanting to get his best friend out of that kind of position. He moved down the hall and turned left at a doorway, seeing a room with multiple chairs and a fireplace. Somebody had to be around somewhere...

 

Sora remembered Riku's advice from earlier, about just breathing. He tightened his grasp on his head but forced himself to take in a deep breath, trying to at least dim the sense of pain. He had no clue what kind of attack could keep him in this kind of extreme pain for so long, and he was a bit afraid.

 

"Sora!" Riku looked over only to see a small elf running toward them, and he arched a brow. When the elf got closer, he gasped. "Oh my. What happened to him?" the little guy asked.

"Heartless. Who's in charge here?" Riku asked, getting right to the point. He didn't have time to explain to this...elf what was going on, even though the sight of the guy made him think he was going crazy. Elves? They existed?

"Big Guy's sleeping after last night's deliveries," the elf said. "So if you're looking for him, you're going to have to wait. Nobody interrupts the boss when he's resting up. After all he did, he deserves it." The little elf then marched away, entering the factory.

Riku was left standing there with Sora leaning against him, the teen blinking in confusion. They couldn't get any help? Terrific. That would mean Sora had to deal with this pain for just a little bit longer.

 

Sora winced, hanging his head. Over the ringing in his head, he had heard the conversation between Riku and the elf. Obviously nobody here was going to help with the problem; elves were only factory workers, not ever having experience with Healing Magic. Santa might have been able to help, but since he was unavailable...The brunet groaned softly, realizing that the pain wasn't disappearing any time soon.

 

Riku turned his head to look at the friend that was like a brother to him, frowning. He was not only upset with Sora's pain, but also that he couldn't get help from the one person the he was sure would have some idea on what they could do. The last time he talked to the King, which wasn't very long ago, he had mentioned that he had his own adventuring to do, and wouldn't be back for a while. Great, so the King was out.

 

Sora felt a bead of sweat trail down the side of his head, but he didn't bother doing anything about it. He felt like he was overheating in the room with the hot fire; however, he couldn't find the words to speak. All of his energy was going into staying conscious and staying on his feet, hoping that somehow, the pain would be alleviated.