Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora shrugged slightly. "Okay," he said, dropping the subject. "If you guys don't mind, though, I wanna go ahead and take a look around. It's been too long since I was here last." He wanted to see if he ran into Alladin or Jasmine and see if anything had changed around the area. He doubt he could get into too much trouble by himself...right?

 

Riku shrugged. "Be my guest," he said casually. "I don't know what you'll find, though. This place is deserted..." He turned his head to glance over his shoulder, the sight around him further emphasizing his point.

Roxas scratched the back of his head, trying his hardest to forget about what exactly had just occurred to him. He remembered earlier he had some vision of this place, of Agrabah. But it was so weird.

 

Sora turned his head, looking at Riku. "There are no people?" he asked, a trace of disappointment coming through his voice. That probably meant that he wouldn't be finding any of his friends today.

 

"I've been here most of the day fighting off the Heartless," Riku said, turning his head back around to look down at his best friend. "The place has been empty ever since they even arrived." It didn't surprise him, really. After two years of this, people eventually learned that the best thing to do was hide away from the evil creatures.

 

Sora sighed softly, shaking his head faintly. He should have expected as much. "I see..." he said, frowning slightly. He looked away from Riku and let his eyes scan the area, seeing the area surrounded by sand, pots, and a few merchant stands. Just like it had been during his last visit.

 

Riku looked at Sora, seeing the disappointment on his friend's face. "Sorry, man." Sora had told him everything about the worlds he visited, and who he met. Considering how friendly Sora was, Riku should have figured he would want to see his friends here.

Roxas let his eyes wander the street, even though he had looked around as soon as he got here. This was Agrabah, and by his memory, this was the same place he had seen inside his head earlier. But he had never seen this place before. How could he have been here before now?

 

Sora brought a hand to the back of his head, running it over his spikes. "It's alright," he said, shrugging lightly. It was disappointing, yes, but it wasn't the end of the world. As long as they were safe, he was happy. And since he refused to believe they were in any real danger if the town was empty, he figured they were safe in the palace.

 

Riku nodded once and looked to Roxas, who was staring off into space. "So," he started, his aqua eyes darting between his two new fighting partners. "I'm sure that since Roxas is a part of you, Sora, that he has the ability to handle himself just as you do." Riku smirked slightly, lifting his chin a little and crossing his arms. "You've convinced me enough you can come along for the ride."

That's the thing, Roxas thought, only hearing half of Riku's words. I was never here before. Ever. But...what could this have meant for him? What were these random images popping up in his head? It made no sense to him, and he wasn't sure what to do about it.

 

Sora felt his lips turn up, a smirk forming. He was glad Riku said that; he hadn't wanted to press the issue and get him upset again. Now,m though, it really felt like they were on the same page. "He could be better than I am," Sora confessed, briefly looking at Roxas before he turned back to Riku. "It helps that he's a natural at wielding two Keyblades." That was a trick he himself was working on, and he could call a second blade when he was in dire trouble.

 

Riku glanced at Roxas. "Special tricks of being a Nobody," he commented, the same smirk still on his face. "Especially when one of a Keyblade Master." When he had first encountered Roxas, Riku had seen him wield the two blades, and he had no doubt Sora was right. Roxas was powerful; Riku knew that firsthand.

Roxas decided to think on that later, hearing himself being spoken of even when he was paying hardly any attention. He looked up to see Riku staring at him, having caught the last bit behind his thoughts. The Nobody of a Keyblade wielder. Yup, that was him. But when Riku said it, he couldn't help but feel something...negative from hearing those words. Roxas didn't want to dwell on it now, so he tried to ignore it.

 

Sora hummed in agreement, uncurling his hands from the light fists they were in. He flexed his right hand and the Kingdom Key came immediately. A second later, Oathkeeper appeared in his left hand. He couldn't help but smile; having two Keyblades was starting to feel more and more natural to him. Pretty soon, that would probably be what he did all the time.

 

Riku uncrossed his arms at the sight. "You know, it's strange that you can do that. Roxas too," he said. "I've always wondered why you were able to summon two..." He stared at the blades in Sora's hands, aware that Roxas could do the same thing as well. He had fought him once, after all, even though one of those Keyblades was given to him to use.

Roxas looked at the weapons in Sora's hands, thinking on Riku's words. He had never really questioned it before--his ability to use two Keyblades instead of just one, even though he could control if he wanted one or two whenever he wanted. Roxas wasn't so sure either. It had just always happened, even since he could remember.

 

Sora shrugged slightly, lifting his eyes from the blades in his hands. "I've been practicing a lot...Doing what exactly, I don't know, but lately I've been able to use two instead of one." He paused for a moment, looking down at Oathkeeper. "I have to admit, it's pretty handy."

 

"I bet. Twice the defense and offense," Riku told him casually. He stared down at the Keyblades before the whistle of the wind entered his ears, signaling the quietness of this world. "Anyway, this place seems like it's clear now. We should probably head out."

Roxas nodded silently in agreement. His eyes danced around the area, but nothing really stood out. This place did appear to be in pretty good shape...

 

Sora nodded, his Keyblades fading out of his grasp. "Right," he said, agreeing. If this place was safe, then it was time for them to leave and save a place that needed help. He wasn't sure where they would go or who they would meet, but he was ready.

 

A month later...

Roxas walked along the dirt terrain of the Elephant Graveyard, not bothering to look around. He already knew that Sora and Riku were ahead of him, so he didn't worry too much about getting lost. Even though he was lost in his thoughts, he still managed to trail behind subconsciously. Roxas's head was clouded with mysteries, puzzles that involved him. It had been this way for some time now, and he already knew that it was affecting his fighting abilities.

Riku's eyes wandered the area in caution, and curiosity. This place was quiet, and he knew why: the place was covered in bones and dirt and rocks--not one animal in sight, even though Sora claimed this world was occupied by lions and such.

 

Sora had one Keyblade in his hand as he headed forward out of the graves, leading the group. He was the only one of the tree who had ever been here before, though under different circumstances. It was odd, not being transformed into a lion cub. But that was because Donald wasn't there with his magic to make that happen. Still, though, that was Sora's smallest concern. He was more worried about Roxas; he hadn't been himself lately.

 

Over the past few weeks, Roxas had seen more and more visions of himself. Every time the three of them visited a new world, some picture invaded Roxas's mind and he saw himself in that place, wielding the Keyblade and fighting Heartless. He had tried to convince himself that it wasn't really him, and that he was just imagining things. But, he hadn't been... The last few visions had clearly shown him that.

Riku walked two steps behind Sora, trailing him in this unfamiliar territory. The past month had been pretty successful; they had defeated a range of Heartless among the last few worlds they had visited, whether the enemies were simply Shadows or, one particular time, a Behemoth. Things had run smoothly, until recently of course. Roxas had been acting strange, and Riku noticed that his strength and focus had been dwindling over the past few weeks.

 

Sora walked forward through the open landscape, heading towards the main part of Pride Rock. Not only was Roxas hesitant to join a conversation, but he was also lagging in battle. One time, Riku had spoken to Sora about that, saying that Roxas was holding them back and endangering himself. But Sora had been clear with protecting his friend's honor; he assured Riku that Roxas was more help than a menace, and that if anything went wrong, Sora would be the one to back up his Nobody.

 

These...pictures would just show up out of the blue, and after a while Roxas came to expect them. Of course they happened, just like he predicted. Recently, though, they had been getting longer and more detailed. He sometimes saw himself fighting alongside other people, but he didn't know them. Or did he? He didn't know... Roxas wasn't sure about anything these days. But his visions had been leading him to think differently, about everything.

Riku saw that the area around them was green with growing grass, a field no doubt. From what Sora had told him before about this place, it had been all dirt and rough, cracked terrain. Apparently the defeat of the Heartless a while ago had turned things around. Of course, things regarding their journey had turned around from the very beginning. First Sora and Roxas joined him, and then over the course of the first few weeks things had been fine, up until Roxas started losing interest in conversations and hesitating in battle. Something was wrong, and Riku knew Sora knew it as well.