Darkness. There was nothing but darkness.

So this was dying. Although, he'd never really lived, so how could he really die? Perhaps it was simple non-existence. But no, he was still conscious of himself. The darkness around him was… warm. Inviting. It beckoned him to rest, to sleep. But… there was someone else here. He could feel the presence, much larger and more potent than he could ever hope to be. It was watching him with… tenderness? He didn't understand. Why would it feel that way towards him?

He floated towards it, interested, and it did not react. They stayed that way for a small eternity, simply examining each other. To him, the Other was beautiful. Despite living in darkness, the Other was not of the darkness. Not at all. A being of such beautiful light… a beacon in the darkness. He wondered what the Other saw when it looked at him.

"Hello?" He surprised himself when he spoke. He hadn't been aware he could speak here… he had no awareness of his body at all. He felt a ripple of amusement from the Other before it spoke.

"Hello. You are Riku's Replica?" A ripple of resentment, almost rage flowed through him before it died in despair. A replica he had been, and a replica he had died.

"Yes, I am. Who are you?" There was a brief hesitation before the Other answered.

"I am dead… but in life, I was Riku's mother. In a sense, your mother." The Riku Replica was momentarily speechless. He had all of Riku's memories, so he felt Riku's pain… the pain of a child abandoned at birth and adopted by a family that didn't seem to care for him very much. It probably wasn't entirely their fault, he'd been a quiet, rather prickly child. But he'd still resented the mother and father who had just walked away and never even tried. "Oh child. Child… I have a good reason for leaving you. Him. Both of you."

"Why? What could have been a good enough reason?" He demanded, and she laughed, the sound sweet and sad.

"I died giving birth." The Replica tried to flinch away from the Other, but she held him with hands of love. He'd never thought of that… Riku had never thought of that. That his mother might have died. "And your… his father was a very bad man. In life, I was a Princess of the Heart… he took me, used me, abused me. I escaped and hid, but I hid too well. They couldn't find my name, anything about me, not my parents… so Riku was placed for adoption. I have been watching him, all these years, giving him tiny bits of help in his journeys. But now he faces something I cannot help him with…"

"What is this to me?" The Replica asked, and she laughed again.

"Nothing, at this moment. Heartless boy. What would you give to have a heart? To be real, in your own right?" The Replica was frozen for a moment. That was what he wanted, above all else. To be someone, not simply a data replica of Riku.

"Anything! But what do you want from me?" He demanded. The Other paused for a moment, thinking. "Wait… what's your name?" The Other seemed to hesitate.

"Even now, it is better that you do not know. That man… he lives… call me Tatiana." The Riku Replica would have frowned, if he could have.

"You're worried about your rapist after all this time? What would he want with Riku?" Tatiana sighed.

"Heartless boy. I would rather not think about what he might want with Riku, if he knew of our boy's existence. Such evil should not exist… but it does not matter. Riku's danger comes from within. My boy… such grief, such pain. I think you can guess the cause, from those memories you hold." The Replica was silent for a moment. There was enough grief and pain in Riku's memories, certainly. And… more. The Replica was a copy of Riku at the age of fifteen, just beginning to feel the stirrings of his sexuality… and all of it aimed at Sora. Who had seemed to return the affection somewhat, but… perhaps not. And the Replica knew that Riku's adoptive family would never accept his feelings. Certainly not if he was really gay. The Replica wasn't sure about that. His brief experiences hadn't been conclusive. "I see you understand… Riku's problems now are things that cannot be fixed with a simple swipe of the sword. I fear he will do himself harm, and I want my boy to have a long, happy life. Not a… a short painful one like mine. If you agree, I will give you a heart and you will watch over my boy. If he dies of something you could have prevented… I will take that heart back."

The Replica considered the bargain for a long moment. She wanted him to be Riku's… what? Not really a bodyguard, since he likely wasn't going to get attacked. Although with his family even that was uncertain. Still, she wanted more of a… friend? Confidant? If she hadn't been offering a heart, he would have refused. Being around Riku, who was real when he wasn't, would have been a terrible torture for the Replica. But she was offering a heart, so he would be real too. Realer anyway. So perhaps it wouldn't hurt so much to be around the real Riku.

"I accept." A flood of warmth seemed to fill him. It was full of pain, suffering, guilt… but also joy, love, and laughter. All the feelings of the world.

Overwhelmed, he fell into the darkness of unconsciousness.

The Replica woke up slowly, feeling the warm sun on his face and sand beneath him.

"Oh… where am I?" He rubbed his face, blinking as he sat up. "…?" He looked down at himself and blinked. He wasn't wearing his dark outfit anymore. He was wearing… Riku's clothes. The old clothes, the ones he'd had as a child… the yellow shirt with the black straps, and the blue pants with black shoes. "…Huh." He muttered to himself, flipping to his feet and walking over to the water. He gazed at his reflection for a moment, realizing that he looked… like Riku. Exactly like Riku. How was he going to explain that?

Actually, you don't look like Riku at the moment. He stiffened, eyes widening as he heard Tatiana's voice in his head. He's nineteen right now, and puberty has made a tremendous difference. You're only starting that change.

"Thanks for reminding me I'm a late bloomer." He looked into the water again, frowning. "So I'm a younger version of him. Still going to be hard… and what should I call myself?" He couldn't call himself Riku, although that was the name that was drilled into his mind through all his memories.

Whatever you like. Or I can name you… heh. I'm going to call you RiRi. The Replica wrinkled his nose for a moment, then shrugged. And I have a trick that might help you, although you probably won't want to use it too often.

"RiRi it is. What trick is that?"

You can assume my old body at will. Just wish for it to happen, and it will. RiRi blinked, running a hand through his hair, and tentatively made a wish.

And suddenly felt a great deal taller. He looked down, and gaped at the very shapely breasts on his chest. Running his hands down his body, he found a flat, toned stomach, long, beautiful legs and flawless skin… and long, silvery hair flowing behind him. Looking into the water wasn't much of a mirror, but RiRi was certain this body was a picture of female loveliness.

It is. Unfortunately, there are problems. Touch your ears. RiRi did, and blinked as he found delicate points. I was a kind of elf. Your eyes aren't human either. RiRi couldn't see his eyes, so decided to just take her word for it.

"How could you have been an elf? The Destiny Islands don't have elves." Then something occurred to him. "Does that mean Riku's father was human?"

I fled very far. I was so desperately afraid… and yes, Riku's father was human. Technically. His actions were not. Anyway… you can use this body to be taken seriously, as an adult. Although your oddness will no doubt be commented on. I don't know if it would be easier to get to know Riku like this or not. RiRi nodded slowly, and frowned as he looked at what this body was wearing. A very short summer dress… he'd be in danger of showing everyone his panties anytime he tried to sit down. Although… it was displaying a luscious amount of cleavage. RiRi reached up and thoughtfully bounced a boob in one hand. …What are you doing?

"Exploring my sexuality." RiRi said innocently, pulling the dress forward a bit so he could stare down his own cleavage. Sure, Riku's memories of affection were all centered on Sora, but did that mean he was actually gay? The tingling between RiRi's thighs seemed to indicate that the answer might be no. Although it felt weird, probably because of the female body. RiRi slowly ran a finger over a nipple, interested in the sensation.

Stop that! Come the outraged sound from Tatiana, but he ignored it. Excuse me, that is my body and I am technically your mother! Incest!

"Oh, it is not. I'm Riku's Replica and you gave me this body to help me. Technically, it's MY body this is masturbation. If I were masturbating. I'm just exploring my boobs." RiRi closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling. It didn't feel wrong at all. It felt good.

ENOUGH! RiRi screamed as his pleasure was rudely interrupted by a direct lightning strike out of a clear sky. Hair smoking and clothing on fire in places, he fell twitching the ground.

"That w-wasn't n-necessary. Ow!" The pain quickly faded… whatever she had hit him with, it hadn't been real lightning, exactly. But it had been exceedingly painful.

You have something to do and it doesn't involve fondling yourself. She reminded him. Honestly. You're making me feel like a real mother. Go, would you?

"Fine, fine. But I hope you won't be talking in my head the whole time." Grumbling to himself, RiRi pulled himself up and straightened the sundress so he wasn't flashing his panties to the world. Checking, he noticed they were a light green… with bows on. Very girly. For a moment, he wondered if Kairi's panties would be pink?

Just go.

"Yes mother." He answered with a small smile, and began walking along the beach. Surely Riku would be here somewhere? Surely.

"Ohmigod! Riku, look!" Sora tugged on his hand, and Riku sighed to himself. They were on the beach, watching girls. Or at least, Sora was watching girls.

Sora had finally made his transition through puberty, and girls were becoming a serious obsession for him. Not that that made him any different from almost all the other boys his age. But Riku was a bit older and being with Sora in this stage made him feel ancient. Not to mention that he would have died and gone to heaven if Sora had looked at him the way he was eyeing all those girls… But that wasn't going to happen, and he wasn't going to ruin a perfectly good friendship wishing for it.

"Riku, look! There's a new girl, I've never seen her before! She's so beautiful and she looks like you and… ohmigod, she's coming this way!" Sora was really freaking out now, gaping and staring. Riku quietly wished for the times when the only girl he looked at was Kairi.

"Try reeling your tongue in or she's going to run like hell," Riku advised, and finally looked at the girl coming towards them. "…?!?" His jaw dropped open as he beheld a true vision of beauty. A vision that looked… unnervingly like himself. Her hair was a beautiful, silvery white, flowing down her back like a curtain of foam. Delicately pointed ears peeked out of it, and her facial features were as delicate as a pixie's. Aquamarine eyes eyed Sora with a hint of laughter in their depths, then turned to him with a startling warmth. The sundress she was wearing was perfect for the heat of a summer day, and left nothing to the imagination. Heads were turning all over the beach to watch her… and was he imagining things, or were half the males on the beach already giving them jealous looks? Tidus and Wakka certainly were.

"Hello." Her voice was clear and sweet as birdsong, and Riku had to swallow. It was the kind of voice that made you wonder what it would sound like, breathing sweet nothings in your ears. Sora tried to pull himself together, but it was clearly an uphill struggle.

"Hi! I'm Sora and this is Riku!" He managed to say brightly, grinning like a fool. But that was actually normal for Sora, and Riku smiled faintly as she offered him a hand and he clasped it.

"I'm RiRi." She offered her hand to Riku and he clasped it as well, feeling a strange jolt as he did. Not a bad feeling, just strange. "I'm new to the Destiny Islands… I was wondering if you could help me? Show me around?"

"We'd love to!" Sora immediately jumped up, and Riku sighed to himself, following suit. He'd really rather just spend time with Sora… but, for once, he didn't really resent the intrusion of a girl. RiRi was just so lovely. Riku felt a strange twinge in his spine, and wondered… was he not actually gay? Was he bi? He'd never noticed a woman this powerfully before.

He'd have to spend some time thinking about it.