Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora held his hands loosely by his side as he headed toward the main entrance, his eyes casually scanning over everything as the Gummi ship ramp automatically shut. Things appeared to be the same as he had left them, which made him feel a bit more comfortable. Things may have changed in his life and in his friends' lives, but at least the worlds hardly changed.

 

Roxas walked a step behind Sora, his eyes focusing ahead of him as they approached the entrance to this...city? He couldn't really tell from standing outside it, or from where they were hovering just above the world itself.

 

Sora opened the door and headed in, his steps a bit slow in caution. He wasn't sure how abundant the Heartless were in this world, and it would have been awful if he and Roxas got hurt with their first mission. He supposed that the "cure" spell would work now that they were off Earth, so he was grateful for that.

 

Roxas stepped in after Sora, immediately taking in that the place was like a market. Yup, this place was definitely unique. He shut the door behind him quietly, feeling the caution coming from Sora and doing the same. As amazed as he was by this world, he couldn't get off track with the mission. They had to find Riku.

 

When Sora saw that the coast was clear, he headed forward, hands by his side as he walked. He may have looked calm, but he was prepared if anything jumped out at him. He had always trusted his instincts--that was allowed him to survive so many battles. As soon as he felt a real threat, he would summon his blade.

 

Roxas walked beside Sora, his eyes scanning the area. Strangely enough, the place was deserted. "You said Riku was here?" he asked casually, his hands in loose fists at his sides. Agrabah, huh? Roxas briefly wondered who Sora had met here, at the same time taking in his surroundings; he needed to be familiar with the territory, in case a battle took place.

 

Sora shrugged slightly, turning his head to look at his best friend beside him. "I think he is," he clarified. "It was just this feeling I had. Knowing Riku, he'd probably want to fight in a warm place like back home." By "home", he meant Destiny Islands, not New York City. It surprised him in a way that he still called that place home. But then again, it felt very natural because of the connections he had to that place.

 

Roxas nodded, glancing at Sora. "Right," he acknowledged as they passed through a shadowed arch, leading them to the next area. One thing Roxas couldn't help but noticing was how quiet the streets were. "This is a market, right?" he asked, a slight trace of suspicion in his tone.

 

Sora nodded, looking forward again. "Yeah," he said simply, not catching onto Roxas' suspicion. "Not a very good one, though--I don't think I've ever seen anybody actually shopping here," he laughed. It was strange--Agrabah was a pretty big city, and yet he hardly ever saw anybody around, now or in the past.

 

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows. "You've never seen anyone around here?" he repeated, looking at his fighting companion. Roxas always did have a very trustful gut feeling, and he was starting to sense it now. Being in the Organization hadn't been a waste of time; he learned a lot from it, and one important part was to always get information about a new world.

 

Sora shrugged, hearing the tone of Roxas' voice but not feeling the same suspicions. "Don't think so," he said. "Probably doesn't mean too much, though. Maybe there's another better marketplace on the other side of the city. The Heartless sometimes appear in these parts."

 

"Exactly," Roxas said, his eyes darting around the area. "You've been here everytime there have been Heartless. If this place is deserted now, doesn't that mean Heartless are nearby?" The sensation within him was getting stronger as they walked, the whistling of the wind the only thing he could hear other than their footsteps.

 

Sora felt a bit uneasy at his friend's words, but he still didn't quite feel the threat. "Not necessarily," he said slowly. "There could have been some here recently and people are just afraid to come back even if the problem seems to be gone." There was a chance that if Riku was here or had been here, the Heartless in this area were taken care of. And if that were the case, a lot of the city dwellers could not realize that there was no threat and stay away from the area.

 

Roxas scratched the back of his head. "Maybe you're right," he said. Maybe he was still a little tense from having to leave Namine, and was mistaking that for a sense of a threat. Roxas stared ahead, his eyes seeing that in the next section of the city there was a large door, but he wasn't sure to what.

 

Suddenly a wave impacted Sora. Not a physical wave, but a mental wave that made his instincts start telling him that danger was imminent. "No," he said suddenly. "You're right. There's something up ahead." The Kingdom Key appeared in his right hand as he ran through an archway, his heart rate increasing because of the danger her felt.

 

Roxas's eyebrows had furrowed at his friend's words, and he didn't hesitate summoning Oblivion to his hand when Sora started running. He followed behind him, only a few strides away. As he passed under an archway, he heard the sounds of battle--slashing of metal and a few battle cries.

Long silver hair whipped around as the Keyblade wielder spun around and slashed at a Neoshadow, his weapon sending the enemy across the length of street, passed the archway, and into a group of red pots. His aquamarine eyes narrowed when he saw that the pots sprouted four legs and started racing toward him, but he already had his hands full. Riku cried out as he swiped at the group of Heartless surrounding him, Way to Dawn making contact with one of the Heartless inhabitants of this desert world.

 

Sora's eyes widened at the sight of his friend, a person he hadn't seen in far too long. Unfortunately, though, now wasn't a good time to catch up--Riku looked overwhelmed with the enemies that surrounded him. He set his footing and then charged forward, slashing through a line of pots much like the way he cut through the falling skyscrapers in The World That Never Was.

 

Roxas stopped by the archway and hurled Oblivion in the Riku's direction, the blade cutting through several small Shadows and making them disappear. He summoned Oblivion back and joined Sora and Riku in the battle.

Riku whirled around first at the sound of smashing pots, his eyes widening when he saw the familiar figure. "Sora?!" he cried, but then jumped slightly when a black Keyblade went soaring past him, cutting through multiple Heartless. He turned in the direction the attack had come from, immediately recognizing the Nobody that looked like his best friend. "Roxas?!"

 

Sora saw a Large Body appear out of the corner of his eye, and he did two back flips to avoid the swipes of the beastly Heartless. "Hey, Riku," he said causally, a small smirk appearing on his lips. "Looks like you could use some help." He looked at his friend for a brief moment before he saw the Large Body coming towards him. He set his footing and raised his Keyblade, prepared to deflect the oncoming blow.

 

Roxas was sprinting into the fray when he caught two Bandits coming towards him, their forms spinning through the air. He jumped and dive-rolled to the side, dodging their attack before he spinted toward them, slashing at both of them. He didn't have time for a "hello", too busy with the foes.

Riku stood, mouth agape in surprise before he sensed movement behind him. He whirled around, bringing up his blade just in time to stop a Shadow from jumping on him. He proceeded to slash at it, though he was still surrounded by a few more Heartless. "You think?" he cried back. A snarl left his lips as he slashed at three Heartless, pushing them farther back. These Heartless had been hounding him for almost ten minutes now, more of them spawning after one was defeated.