Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Dark Sora smiled. "Fine," he said cockily. "But just remember--you're a lousy protector." As a part of Sora, he knew all about Roxas' and Namine's past. And he was going to use it to his advantage.

Sora gripped his blade more tightly in anger--he hated this darkness. He hated that it was abusing his friend. But all he needed was a few more seconds and then he'd have the perfect shot to bring down his enemy.

Namine made a turn, going from a flat part of the station to another hill. She silently prayed she wouldn't trip over her own two feet--that would be awful.

 

Roxas's eyes widened at the comment, feeling that he knew what the darkness was talking about. But then he narrowed his eyes, the smirk vanishing as he gritted his teeth together. Grasping his Keyblades tightly at his side, he ran forward, charging at Dark Sora.

Kairi could still hear the thumping of the guards against the door, but she prayed the pole would hold them back long enough for her and Namine to escape. They were defenseless, and the only option they had at protecting themselves was to run.

 

Dark Sora grinned and ran toward Roxas. Then he suddenly dodged Roxas, easily rolling out of the way. He charged for Sora, but then he saw something he hadn't seen before due to Roxas blocking the teen: his Keyblade was glowing. Dark Sora skidded to a halt, but it was too late for him.

"Goodbye," Sora muttered, sending the stream of light straight for his enemy. He heard his dark self scream, making him wince. It was a completely unearthly scream. He kept his eyes on the dark being, seeing him starting to fade again. It was ending. Finally, it was ending.

Namine stumbled slightly, tripping on the hill. She whimpered softly and fell to her knees, using her hands to catch herself before she would have the chance to fall flat on her face.

 

Roxas skidded to a halt and turned just in time to see Dark Sora get hit by the beam of light. He winced at the scream as it echoed through the room. Despite that, he was glad to see the enemy fade from the world. He didn't deserve to be there.

Kairi stopped, crouching down next to Namine. "You okay?" she asked, her tone holding haste. She glanced behind her, checking to make sure there wasn't anyone following before her attention was on Namine again.

 

Sora's beam ended sooner than he would have liked, the teen using up all the energy he could into that single attack. But it was good enough. Dark Sora stood before him, clearly defeated.

Dark Sora chuckled weakly, his Keyblades disappearing. "Looks like you win," he said weakly. He extended his arms to his sides and suddenly an overwhelming wind filled the room.

Sora grunted, sliding back at the wind. He couldn't hold his balance and fell down, coming to a stop once he was by the wall. He saw a cloud of darkness coming toward him and it entered his heart. His darkness belonged to him again.

Namine nodded, lifting her head to look at her head. "Fine," she panted. "Tripped." She couldn't form many words at that moment; she was too exhausted. How far away was the ship...? And where were Roxas and Sora?

 

Roxas brought his Keyblades up in an attempt to fight the wind, but it was no use. He was pushed back against the wall closest to him. His form collided with the wall, but at the same time he felt something smash in his pocket.

Kairi nodded, standing before offering her hand to Namine. As much as she hated pushing her friend in her condition, they had to get moving.

 

Sora brought down his hands when he felt the wind finally die down again. His bright blue orbs slowly opened and he saw Roxas against a wall as well. "You alright?" he panted, setting a hand on the wall as he forced himself to stand up.

Something suddenly clicked in Namine's head. It was an indescribable experience, but it took her breath away. "Kairi," she gasped. "I'm sorry..." The girl's eyes fell shut as her arms gave out from underneath her, blackness surrounding her in her unconscious state.

 

Roxas brought his Keyblades down, letting them fall to his sides. He opened his eyes and nodded once. "Yeah..." he said slowly, but not before summoning away one of his blades. He reached into his pocket, feeling bits and pieces of something.

Kairi's eyes widened, a gasp leaving her lips. "Namine?!" she cried, falling back to her knees at the situation. "Namine!" She put a hand lightly on Namine's shoulder, trying to wake her, but it was no use.

 

The door at the top of the area finally burst open, the men having broken it down entirely in an effort to get to the girls. "Find them!" the one guard snarled in frustration. He hoped they hadn't gotten too far away or this whole operation was over.

Sora nodded faintly, leaning against the wall. Roxas said he was alright, but something still didn't feel right with him...was it something Dark Sora had said to him? He didn't know, so he stayed silent for a moment.

 

Roxas pulled the handful of pieces out of his pocket, holding it out in front of him so he could get a better look at it. "No!" he suddenly cried, eyes widening. The crystal...it was broken!

Kairi's head whipped in the direction the yell came from and she frantically looked back down at her unconscious friend. She put her arms underneath Namine's shoulders and stood up, beginning to pull her friend out of the middle of the passage. "Sora!" she called from within her heart. "Where are you?!"

 

Sora jumped at his friend's cry. "What--?" And then the message in his heart arrived. His heart skipped a beat as he responded. "That doesn't matter," he said frantically. "Where are you? What's wrong?" By the sound of her silent voice, Sora knew that something was terribly wrong.

 

Roxas stared in shock at the broken crystal in his palm. The pieces were still glowing a low gold, but that didn't matter. He was more concerned with Namine's condition. What could this have done to her, if it did anything?

Kairi continued to pull Namine, despite the sounds of footsteps nearby. "I...I don't know," she answered hastily. "But, it's Namine. She fell unconscious again, and there are guards after us!"

 

Sora clenched his hand in a fist. "We'll come find you," he said in a hurry. "Are you anywhere near any of the places we went through earlier?" Sora didn't wait for her answer, but instead turned to Roxas, who was very distracted. "The girls are in trouble," he said simply. "We gotta find 'em before this whole place bursts into flames." As if on cue, the fire on the other side of the room started to spike, engulfing what was left of the evil men who had been there at the time of the explosion.

 

Roxas looked up, his eyes now showing even more panic. "Right," he agreed, his head turning toward the flames. He summoned away Oathkeeper and pushed himself off the wall. He needed to go find Namine, especially since she was in more trouble than he thought.

Kairi found a corner and stopped, leaning Namine gently against the wall. She looked around, trying to recognize where she was. "...I think we might be somewhere near the boarding dock on the higher level," she answered. "We're outside on a passageway, on the same floor as Namine's room."

 

"Okay," Sora said to Kairi. "Stay in that general area, we're coming." The brunette turned to look at his friend, who was looking distressed. Sora decided not to tell him at that moment what Kairi had told him. He gave a quick nod to his friend before running for the door and exitting the room. He actually thought he had an idea where the girls were; he had seen a door earlier that looked like it could lead someplace. That's where he would go first.

 

Roxas followed Sora's lead, running out of the burning, destructed room and into the hallway. The girls were in trouble, and how Sora found out--well, he wasn't too worried about that. He was more concerned with the girls' safety.

Kairi stayed crouched next to her unconscious friend, hoping that the men weren't close...

 

Sora rounded one corner so quickly that he nearly lost his footing. He stumbled slightly but regained his balance in a hurry and kept running, making another right turn into the hall across from the stairwell. There--at the end of the hall, the door looked forced open. That had to have been it. He picked up his pace and kept running.

"Found 'em!" one guard cried, standing about two levels away from the girls. He didn't move closer, but he waited for his friends to come to help him.

 

Roxas followed, his thoughts on Namine. What was wrong? Did something happen to her? Were they found? Was she affected by the crystal that had mistakenly broken moments ago? His worry only pushed him harder, the boy right on Sora's heels.

Kairi's eyes darted up at the shout, her fear reaching a new high. She looked down at Namine, seeing that she was still unconscious, and then found the man again. "Sora!" her heart called again, panicking.

 

"Roxas," Sora started while he was still running. His friend needed to know what to expect when they found the girls, so he had no choice but to tell him. "The girls are being chased...and...Namine collapsed. I'm sorry." He continued his approach on the door, running outside seconds later. "Kairi, I'm coming," he told her reassuringly. "Almost there."

 

Roxas's eyes widened, his worry increasing considerably. "Namine..." he whispered, his pace the same as he followed Sora. He needed to get to her now, before something even worse happened. Roxas kicked it up a notch, forcing himself to go faster.

Kairi let her eyes leave the men as she crouched down next to her friend, looking at her. She felt so bad that it had come to this, and she was supposed to get her out safely. Roxas... He had been counting on her. He trusted her with Namine's life, and now this was happening.