Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

In a matter of minutes, Sora was approaching Roxas' house. He didn't live too far away from his best friend, so that always made commuting pretty easy. He approached the front door, feeling the letter in his back pocket as he went up the steps. He wasn't going to lose that letter; that would have been disastrous.

 

Roxas took in the last spoonful of his cereal and then drank the remaining milk in the bowl. He stood up from his spot at the table, approaching the sink and setting the bowl inside as silence surrounded his home.

 

Sora stopped in front of the door and lifted a hand, pressing the button for the doorbell. He heard it faintly from where he was standing, so he was sure that Roxas heard it as well.

 

Roxas wiped his mouth with his arm as he walked out of the kitchen. He approached the front door in the entryway and opened it, already knowing who it was. "Hey, man," he greeted, stepping to the side and opening the door more. "Come on in."

 

"Thanks," Sora said, giving his friend a small smile and a nod. He stepped inside the house and took a few steps before he turned around to face Roxas once more.

 

"So what's up?" Roxas asked, glancing at Sora as he shut the door. He was curious as to why his friend rushed over here so suddenly, and what the phone call was about.

 

Sora reached into his back pocket and pulled out the folded up letter, the teen explaining things while he performed the movement. "I got a letter in the mail," he said, holding the letter out in front of him a bit. "I think you should check it out."

 

Roxas's eyebrows furrowed a little in interest, the teen glancing up at Sora before looking back down at the letter. "Alright." He took it from his friend's grasp and unfolded it, his eyes immediately beginning to scan over the words. As he read over the handwriting, his face began to change--his curiosity started to fade, a look of seriousness taking its place.

 

Sora folded his arms across his chest, and looked down at the floor, deep in thought. Surely Roxas realized what this letter meant. Things were going to change for them--drastically.

 

"This is from King Mickey," Roxas declared, his hands still holding the letter as he looked up at Sora. The signature alone was enough to tell him this was important, and the letter's contents convinced him of it as well.

 

Sora looked up and nodded seriously. "Read it aloud," he requested. "I honestly feel like I'm in a bad dream or something." Maybe hearing the words from somebody else would help him snap out of the daze and realize that this was for real.

 

Roxas nodded, looking back down at the letter in his grasp. "Sora," he started, beginning to read. "I'm sorry to disturb you as you all adjust to your new lives in New York City, but I feel I must inform you on the matters at hand." Roxas's eyes darted across the words as he read them aloud. "I'm sure you're well aware that Riku has left your new world in hopes of depleting the amount of Heartless throughout the worlds. However, it seems that he is not succeeding all on his own. Riku didn't want to ask for your help, not wanting to intrude on your hopefully happier lives. With this in mind, he set of on his own and rejected the offer for support." Roxas took in a breath, preparing to read the rest of the letter.

 

Sora exhaled a silent breath, looking down at the ground. Of course Riku wouldn't want to intrude; Deep down inside, Sora believed Riku still felt a little guilty over what happened a few years ago. Even though Sora had openly forgiven him, his friend wasn't so quick to forgive himself. He was trying to do a service by killing the heartless by himself and not involving Sora, but now he needed help doing that, according to the letter.

 

"The Heartless have gotten stronger since your last adventure, and I fear that as bold and courageous as Riku is, he will not be able to take on such a big task alone," Roxas continued, reading the words written into the paper. "Knowing how well you work together, Sora, I ask that you and Roxas accompany Riku on his journey. I do not know how long this adventure will last, but I believe you two can bring a significant difference to and can help overcome this problem.

"The last time I heard from Riku was a few days ago when he visited the Castle, informing me of his progress so far. To be sure you start your journey correctly, I've requested a Gummi ship to be sent to an abandoned port shortly. Expect it in a few days," Roxas continued, becoming more worried as he read the letter over again. "Good luck to you both. King Mickey."

 

Sora furrowed his brows and looked down at the ground, crossing his arms more tightly. It wasn't a question of if he and Roxas would go help Riku; obviously they would. But their simple, mostly peaceful lives on Earth were being shattered for a while, and that didn't sit well with him. And judging by the tone of voice Roxas used when reading the letter, it didn't sit well with him, either.

 

"...You got this in the mail today?" Roxas asked, his tone showing how he felt about this news. His eyes closed as he rubbed his forehead with his free hand, the letter within his grasp as it came down by his side.

 

Sora nodded, not looking up. "Yes," he responded simply. "As soon as I finished reading it over, I called you. And here we are." Any other time, the last sentence may have come across as a joke, but today, things were far too serious for them to laugh that easily.

 

Roxas nodded once, opening his eyes to look at the letter again. As he stared at it, one named popped up in his head: Namine. "Oh no," he groaned, raking his fingers through his spikes. What was he supposed to tell her?

 

Sora looked up, immediately recognizing what Roxas was thinking about by his tone of voice and facial expression. "I'm surprised Kairi hasn't realized something is wrong yet," he confessed aloud. Their hearts were connected, and he was sure things didn't seem normal on his side. He was in shock, so he didn't really know what emotions he was feeling. Soon, though, he was sure things would sink in.

 

"What're we gonna tell the girls?" Roxas said, his voice showing how worried he was about this situation. He realized that by Sora's words Kairi probably was feeling a little of something, but Namine--she had no idea. And she was going through a hard time already...