Chapter 6: Confusion
He walked in at an interesting time. Vexen (he had remembered HIS name, at least) was holding a card, studying it with interest. "That card holds the memories of Sora and Riku's home." Axel explained.
"It's just a card," he said, causing everyone to turn and look at him. "What good is that?"
"With a little help from Namine, you'll have all the real Riku's memories." Again, names were fleeting, and therefore he couldn't remember the name of the person who spoke. But, it was one of the most memorable members of the Organization, if only because she was the only girl. "Maybe we can get her to make you forget you're nothing but a fake. Inother words, we'll remake your heart so you can be- exactly the same as thereal Riku, 'kay?
He gasped, anger rising. "You want to remake my heart?" he asked. "The real Riku is a wimp who's afraid of the dark! What would I want with the heart of a loser?"
They ignored him completely.
"Any objections, Vexen?" she asked, turning to look at him. Vexen seemed deep in thought. "After all, you do want to test Sora, don't you?"
Vexen nodded. "It must be done."
"How can you?" he asked, shocked. "Are you betraying me?"
Vexen smiled and held up the card. "I told you I would make good use of you, didn't I?"
"No!" he said, backing up a step.
"Relax kiddo," the girl said. "I don't think it's going to hurt that much."
"I'll hurt you!" he shouted, summoning his weapon and charging. Every ounce of his anger went into that attack, but he was knocked away with a bolt of lightning. He hit the floor, his weapon spinning out of reach. He tried to get back on his feet, ignoring her laughter.
"Stupid little toy! Think you could defeat me? Where would you ever get a little thought like that?"
He abandoned his attempts to stand and instead turned to glare at her. Fear coursed through him as she made her way over.
"But- look on the bright side. Along with everything else in your head, Namine will erase the memory of me knocking you flat." He continued to back up as she approached, though he knew he couldn't back up much further without hitting the wall. "Instead, she'll implant the loveliest little memories you could ever hope for!" She smiled. "It's no big deal that their all lies."
"No-" he said, backing up the last inch he could. "NOO!"
xxx
It was this final scream that woke him up. He had fallen asleep on the beach, his body still trying to catch up on all the sleep he was missing. Of course, nearly every time he closed his eyes another memory would drift back to him, so it never felt like he was sleeping.
Riku sighed and sat up, looking out at the water. What stunk the most about all these memories is that not one helped him remember the name of that girl. He considered this angrily for a moment before shaking his head and standing up. It wasn't worth worrying about. He headed off to his Secret Place, hoping to get more thinking done there. Even if sitting on the shore and listening to the waves was peaceful, nothing could match the peace that he could find in his Secret Place.
He spent a while sketching out what he had remembered on the walls, which had become habit lately. While he was sketching, he thought hard about the memory. They were talking about- rewriting his memory. Had they actually done it? Was this why he couldn't remember anything now? He didn't think so, though.
If they rewrote my memories, what memories did they give me? Is anything I'm remembering even real? Or is it all just fake?
And speaking of fake, what was it she had said? Make me forget I was fake? Does that mean I'm not real?
He turned to look at one of the first few pictures he had drawn. The one that showed him fighting himself.
I did say in that memory that I was a replica…
Is that all I am?
A fake with fake memories?
He shook his head, deciding not to think about that anymore and returned to his drawing.
Once he had finished with that, he moved over to another part of the wall, which he had dedicated to listing all the members of the Organization. He scratched Vexen's name into the wall next to the picture he had drawn of him, and then underneath Vexen drew a hasty picture of the other member he had remembered today. He didn't bother much with detail, why waste time on a jerk like her?
Riku sat down with a sigh and chucked the rock he was holding over his shoulder. He still couldn't remember that one girl's name. It was going to drive him nuts if he didn't remember soon. He ran his hand over a picture he had drawn a few days ago. It was a quite detailed one of him and Sora fighting, and though he couldn't remember the reason why they were fighting exactly, he was positive it had something to do with the girl.
Of course, Riku was still curious why Sora didn't know her. Had he forgotten everything, like he had? Did Sora have nights where his own dreams and memories haunted him? He shook his head, it was unlikely. Sora was just too happy all the time, and when something was troubling Sora, he usually made sure everyone knew about it.
"Just another question that remains unanswered," Riku muttered. "If only I could remember more, maybe then it would all make sense." He turned around, going to retrieve his rock. The rock lay a few feet away from the other wall, which he had yet to cover completely in drawings. He picked up the rock and then looked at the wall thoughtfully. Getting an idea, he began to draw…
xxx
Riku spent many hours laboring over this picture. It had to be perfect, and he made sure to be precise in every detail. When he was finally satisfied, he took a step back to admire his work. It was probably his best drawing yet. Deciding he'd spent enough time sitting there, he went outside to go stretch his stiff limbs.
It wasn't dark yet, though the sun would begin to set within the next hour. He strolled along the shore, wondering if Sora and Kairi were around anywhere. They probably were wondering where the heck he had been all day.
Riku stopped suddenly and looked around. Standing in the shadows was a cloaked figure. He tensed.
"Riku… come here. I want to show you something…"
He frowned, but curiosity got the better of him and he cautiously headed over. "Who are you? What do you want?"
The figure's only response was throwing a rock at him. Riku threw up his arms to shield his face, only to realize there was no need. The rock never hit. Slowly, he lowered his arms and found that the rock was floating about three inches from his face.
"You don't belong here Riku…" the figure said, and the rock fell to the floor.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Riku asked angrily. The figure didn't respond, but turned and started to walk away.
"Hey!" Riku called. "Get back here! Answer me!"
The figure was gone. Riku scowled and bent down to pick up the rock. It was small, round, and black, not to mention ice cold.
What did he mean by that? Do I really not belong here?
He closed his fist around the rock and looked up to scowl at where the figure had once stood. To his surprise, Sora and Kairi were standing there. He quickly replaced his scowl with a more blank expression.
"You find something?" Sora asked.
Riku stood up. "Just a rock," he said, holding the rock out for them to see.
"I love those rocks!" Kairi exclaimed, grabbing the rock from his hand. "They're always so warm, like there's a little fire inside of them."
Riku stared at her in disbelief. After a second he frowned and said: "it was ice cold when I picked it up." Upon noticing the confused looks on his friends' faces, he laughed. "I guess the rock just doesn't like me."
"That's ridiculous!" Sora said.
"You think?" Riku asked, grabbing the rock from Kairi and tossing it to Sora. "Throw it at me." Sora paused, staring at him as if he was crazy.
"Go on!" Riku urged. Sora looked down at the rock in his hand and made a face as he usually did when he was thinking hard. After a second he shrugged and threw the rock at Riku. Just like last time, the rock stopped about three inches away from him and floated there for a second before falling to the ground.
"Huh," Sora muttered.
Riku pushed the thought of the rock out of his mind and turned to Sora. "Hey Sora, I'll race you!"
Sora turned to look at him, taking a second process what Riku had said. As soon as he did, he took off at top speed. Riku laughed and raced after him.
Kairi laughed to, and started to follow, but paused. She picked up the rock. After a quick second of thought, she pocketed it and ran to catch up to the boys.