Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora kept his eyes open, but his gut was telling him that most of the Heartless had been in the Graveyard. They had fought there for a long time, most of the enemies being defeated by Sora and Riku. Thinking back to Roxas, Sora remembered just how many times he had to stick out his own neck during battle. Roxas would randomly miss a blow and end up hit, but Sora was always there to back him up. Often times he would end up with worse injuries than Roxas did just because when he hurried in to protect his friend, his fighting got a lot more offensive and his defense was weaker. Still, though, he figured that he would do whatever it took to protect his friend while he was distracted and unable to watch his own back.

 

Roxas saw a different side of him in these visions, and sometimes it made him queasy. He fought the Heartless in the various locations he, Sora, and Riku visited, but something about the images told him it was for a bad purpose. And sometimes he talked to these people who were with him, engaging in a conversation that had something to do with the Heartless... But one time Roxas saw, and practically heard, one conversation regarding Kingdom Hearts. That was enough to make him stiff. The visions themselves made him weaker and more vulnerable in battle, but that had occurred just a few days ago. Ever since then, the pictures were even more interesting.

Riku tried telling Sora that Roxas wasn't doing well, and that he was slowing them down. Of course Sora stood up for him, even though whatever was distracting Roxas had obviously begun happening more often; he was slipping up more, and Sora was always backing him up. It made things more difficult for all of them, and their missions took longer because of it. Riku wasn't enjoying it.

 

Sora walked forward with a heavy heart, keeping his eyes forward. He didn't want to think about Roxas' slip-ups. Something was up, and it hurt him a bit that Roxas wouldn't speak to him about it. Soon, he'd have to press the issue, because Roxas' irrational behavior really was putting them all in danger. At first it hadn't been that bad, but these days it was enough to make Sora stay within five feet of his friend during battle. He hoped that Riku didnt' notice just how tired physically Sora was from always defending Roxas and taking out enough Heartless for the two of them. But he knew Riku noticed; his friend wasn't an idiot.

 

Roxas was so confused these days, and half the time his thoughts intruded on his concentration in battle. He noticed that Sora was always backing him up, helping him when he was suddenly caught in a daze by the weird images. Roxas felt bad that his friend had to do that for him, but the visions were sporadic; half the time he couldn't see them coming. Sometimes when he was in battle his vision would cloud over, and the next thing he knew, the fight was over; the visions took up that much time. It was starting to scare him a little, but he was also getting angry. The confusion he dealt with from these random pictures made him start to question who he was as a person.

 

Sora felt his shoulders slump, a heavy breath leaving him. He just wanted this to end...all of it. Not just Roxas' weird behavior, but the fighting in general. It had already been a month, and his heart was aching for home. No, more than that--Kairi. He missed her so much, and he was so worried about what he was missing. But at the same time, he knew the work he was doing was necessary. The Heartless really were growing stronger, and countless times in battle, Sora was reminded that Riku couldn't handle this on his own. He would do what was necessary, even if it was with a heavy heart.

 

Why was he seeing himself fighting with the Keyblade? And not just Oathkeeper and Oblivion like he remembered, but with the Kingdom Key? Sora's Keyblade. It confused Roxas even more as he trailed behind his two battle partners, the only sound that registered to him being the brushing of their feet against the grass. He knew it was him, it was so obvious. Why would he be having weird "dreams" about someone else? That only happened when he was connecting with Sora again, a long time ago back in Twilight Town.

 

Sora was the first to get off the grassy turf of the field and head up to the stone lifting known as Pride Rock. It looked green and fresh compared to when he was last here, and he was very glad for that. When he had left before, things had just been taking a turn for the better. It was good to see that things hadn't fallen apart.

 

But...weird things had been happening then too. It had been so long ago that Roxas had nearly forgotten it when he accepted his new life in New York. When something that deeply complicated happened to you, though, there wasn't a way to forget about it forever. He simply pushed the memory to the depths of his heart. Was that where these images were coming from now?

Riku lifted his head somewhat to gaze at the huge rock that they were approaching. He could only stare, aware that this was lions' land. Sora had mentioned that had been where they were going as soon as they got off the ship. And Sora had been a lion when he visited here before? Riku wasn't as surprised about the transformation as a normal person would be; he'd dealt with weird for a few years now.

 

Sora continued up, hearing a few lions up ahead before he could see them. That didn't surprise him; they often roamed the area when he was here before. For some reason, he was sure his visit in human form wouldn't create any problems--his voice and eyes were enough to identify him. That, and probably the scent that only animals could pick up.

 

Roxas didn't have any other answer for it. Does that mean...these are memories? The blond boy furrowed his brows at the thought, his lips parting somewhat. He continued to follow Sora and Riku regardless, his heart skipping a beat. No... No, they couldn't be. I don't remember any of that...

Riku saw the lions up ahead, becoming slightly cautious. By the vibe he was getting from Sora, he knew he didn't have to be so up-tight. But it was just his instincts kicking in. After all, lions were dangerous animals.

 

Sora looked over his shoulder, seeing Riku a bit tense. "They're friends," he said calmly. He held the Keyblade lightly in his hand, but it wasn't because he felt there would be any fights; it was just another way that his former friends could identify him. After all, not many people came around wielding Keyblades.

 

Roxas's breath naturally caught at the thoughts in his head, not understanding. Memories...of me? he thought, following Sora and Riku subconsciously. He knew he needed to be paying attention, but he just couldn't help it. What was going on with him was puzzling him and so strange... Roxas blinked hard when he thought he recognized that his vision was clouding, walking up the remainder of the small incline of the rock.

Riku nodded, looking around. "Right." He didn't doubt Sora, mainly because Sora had more experience in this world than he did. In this case whatever Sora said, went.

 

Sora looked over at the female lions, and they looked back. A few of them moved a step closer, looking like they were smiling. Sora smiled back at them, glad to see that his different form wasn't going to be a problem. He walked past a cave entrance and up another path, eyes wandering to that so that he wouldn't lose his footing and do something stupid.

 

Roxas continued along the path before him, following as usual. His mind for now was blank, and he knew that always happened right before one of his...memories came to him. He balled his hands into tight fists, wanting to fight the timing of the vision.

Riku looked at Sora and then the lions, arching an eyebrow. "Sora, where exactly are we going?" he asked, switching the thought in his head for another as he looked up the tall gray wall of the rock.

 

When they finished walking the incline, Sora turned around to face his taller friend. "I figured we would head to the very top of Pride Rock," he started. "Last time I was here, a lot of Heartless gathered up there." It was strange, no matter how many times he went up there on his last journey, the Heartless just kept coming back.

 

Roxas listened to the conversation for the first time in a while, one word catching his attention the most. Heartless. That seemed to trigger everything. Oh no... Roxas suddenly stopped walking, his sight clouding over with the memory that was reaching him. He gripped his head as a high ringing entered his ears, the boy sidestepping and leaning his back against the wall of Pride Rock. He clamped his eyes shut and groaned as the picture started forming, gritting his teeth.

Riku turned around, about to reply when he heard a soft sound of pain. "Sora," he called instantly, seeing that his Nobody was obviously going through another episode, whatever it was. His tone had been one of alarm, like almost every other time. This time, though, it looked pretty bad.

 

Sora whirled around at Riku's tone, his eyes widening when he looked past him and saw Roxas. He instantly moved around Riku and to Roxas' side, setting a hand on his shoulder. "Easy, man," he said, looking at his friend with concern. He didn't know what was going on here, and that only elevated his worry.

 

Roxas heard Sora, but couldn't take what he said into account. He winced at the high-pitched sound in his ears, the memory flooding his mind instantly. The depth of this memory made him groan softly, and he saw that he was fighting Heartless again, this time alongside somebody with flaming red hair. He wielded fiery weapons, using the same element as if it fueled his power. Axel. The name came to him without him even thinking about it, but it also triggered another jolt of pain. Roxas let out a short, sharp cry of pain as he fell to one knee, still gripping his head.

Riku took a few steps toward his two comrades when Roxas collapsed, his eyebrows furrowed. He was alarmed, because this time Roxas seemed to really be in pain. Before he had just been spacing out, not paying attention, or very quiet. It was different now, Riku noticed, and he didn't think it was a good sign.

 

Sora's eyes widened, his hand coming off Roxas' shoulder when he dropped down to one knee. "Roxas!" he called in concern, his Keyblade disappearing from his grasp. His big blue eyes stayed on his best friend as he knelt down as well, one hand on his shoulder and the other being held out in case his friend fell forward. What's going on?! he thought, panicked. Roxas is in serious pain!

 

Roxas clutched at his head, his fingers digging into his spiky hair. Axel... My best friend. The thought flew through his mind along with the pictures, the boy seeing himself alongside Axel as they fought Heartless and sat up on the clock tower. "Hey, Roxas. Bet you don't know why the sun sets red. You see, light is made up of lots of colors. And out of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest." Roxas winced again at the memory, practically hearing his friend's voice.