Chapter 7
Defaulting

"A faithful replica until the very end".

It was almost sunset at Hollow Bastion, two figures dressed in black were crossing the crevasse undisturbed. Mickey had already passed there a couple of times, but Riku - the original one - saw that area for the first time. During the short period he had lived in that world, he never left Maleficent's castle.
They continued to walk almost until the end of the road, when suddenly the King noticed that the boy had stopped and knelt, with one hand on his chest.
"Riku!" called the monarch running toward his friend to aid him.
"It's nothing..." the boy answered, almost whispering, making to the other person sign to stop with his hand. He stood up, barely staggering, but managed to get back on his feet. "I'm fine".
Riku started walking straight ahead again. King Mickey lowered his discouraged gaze, thinking about how much the shadow of Ansem could really weigh on the teenager's heart. As if the latter had read his thoughts, he said: "I have to do it myself, but I'm almost there. I'll be back soon".
Mickey reached out to his companion running, remembering that he still had a lot of things to do. "Whatever you need, I'll always be with ya" he said, returning his usual friendly smile back to his face.

"It took longer than expected, but we're still on time," announced DiZ with his redundant voice.
"We're running out of time", began Riku Replica by correcting the scientist. "We have to move".
Three weeks had passed since they met Axel. In that time, Ansem had opted for a large number of worlds to be able to transfer Sora and hide from King Shadow and the Organization. Fortunately, there were no further attacks by anyone, but Riku had always been on the alert.
"I know" DiZ answered as he looked down on the portable monitor he held in his hand. "But there is only one thing left to do: I want you to accompany Naminé to the place I have chosen so that she can study it well and decide on the best spot to place Sora. Then we can proceed with the transfer of the equipment and finally we can leave. It will only take a handful of days".
"You're sure you want to stay alone?" the Nobody asked to the man with his delicate voice.
"You shouldn't take long. I'll be able to get away with it".
"All right", said Riku not far away. He was right in front of Sora's pod, watching the Keyblade Keeper with his helmet under his arm. He almost seemed to admire his former opponent, absorbed in the thoughts that made him eager to repay him.
He had thought a lot about the purpose he had found a short while ago and later realized that even the real Riku wanted to protect Sora. Could it be that his design had been so meticulous that he had to replicate, albeit unconsciously, the intentions of the original Riku? "Maybe that's how it is", Naminé told him when he confided in her, "but despite having the same goal, you've chosen two different paths: he's fighting the darkness within himself, while you've stayed here to defend Sora in person. I believe that you are much more than just a copy".
Riku had not yet fully convinced himself of the last part, but had learned not to give so much importance to certain thoughts. He cleared his head of all questions, turned to DiZ and asked: "And are you sure you can trust me?"
The man did not answer, he just gave a quick glance at him in exchanged. Even if neither of them had admitted it, a relationship of mutual esteem had arisen between them.
The Replica laughed and then turned to Naminé: "If it's okay with you, I'd say we should go right away and close this up".
"Sure", replied the girl.
Riku wore the helmet and with a gesture of his hand Ansem opened a dark corridor that led to the designated place. The two boys entered and found themselves in the blue space amidst the worlds, studded everywhere with Nobody's symbol. Both saw that strange place for the first time, but Naminé felt particularly intimidated. "Are we safe here?"
"What do you mean here?"
The Nobody was dumbfounded and confused by the question that she could not answer. It took her a few seconds to realize it was a joke, then she made an effort to get a laugh.
"Sorry Nami, but I don't have a great sense of humour. I'm trying to improve", Riku explained.
This time the girl laughed spontaneously. "You'll get it", she said, taking her partner's hand with hers. Their fingers intertwined and both continued to walk forward. After a few minutes they reached another passage, crossed it and went out into the open: the destination was an abandoned mansion just outside a small forest. A pleasant breeze blew among the trees, gently shaking the leaves and the branches, filtering the reddish sunlight of the sunset, even if it was only the early hours of afternoon.
Riku and Naminé looked around intrigued, for both it was the first time they had seen one of the worlds outside the Castle Oblivion. The memories of the original Riku, however, deceived the Replica: he expected every world to have a clear blue sea, a golden sandy beach and an incandescent sun. However, he did not understand whether he felt nostalgia or disappointment.
The youngsters headed towards the old unhinged gate, opened it, crossed the alley and finally entered the mansion. The Nobody immediately set to work and began to inspect every room, first on the lower floor and then on the upper one. Riku instead made sure that everything was safe, but the place seemed free of any danger, so he decided to visit the house calmly. He entered the library and it had just an old table in the middle of the room with a candlestick and a wall-mounted bookcases, still full of books and novels. On the other side of the corridor there was another room, completely white and without furniture, with only two large white tents swaying together as the wind blew.
He went downstairs and found a living room still furnished, but the dust covered every surface. Naminé joined the boy after a while, saying that she had finished.
"You were really quick", Riku commented. "Better so, let's go back to Sora straight away".
The Replica headed towards the front door, followed by the girl, who grabbed Riku's hand again, but the noise of a broken glass made them turn around. A large black arm emerged from the broken window, groping for the handle, finding it and managing to open the passage. It was Pete, who came onto the scene climbing over the wall.
"You again?" Riku shouted, while calling forth his Soul Eater.
"Ugh, he's really here, so he was right", the cat muttered in a low voice.
"Nami, go away," the boy ordered. The Nobody ran for shelter fleeing into the room next door, but occasionally leant out his head to see what was going on.
"I have to get rid of it quickly," Pete muttered again to himself. Then, pulling out all his arrogance, filled his lungs and said aloud: "All right, brat! You have two possibilities: you can leave without makin' a fuss and you will not put yourself on my path anymore, or good ol' Pete will have to beat up your ass!"
"I have already heard the story of the 'good ol' Pete', and I remember well how it ended. I'm not at all impressed with your strength!"
"You think so, rookie?" Pete replied laughing. "I've equipped myself well, this time!"
The cat pulled a huge blue-grayish ball out of a pocket, with bands that traced its circumference. Pete threw it at his opponent who grabbed it in the air, blocking the shot without any problems.
"What's it, you thought you were playing blitzball?" Riku asked provocatively.
"Of course not... but ya fell right into my trap!"
"What?"
The bands on the ball illuminated suddenly. The Replica, caught unawares, remained petrified: the sphere generated a small but powerful explosion that completely engulfed the boy, throwing his helmet off against a wall.
Naminé remained behind the door, stunned by the fright, while observing the fading smoke. It took a few moments, then finally she saw the silhouette of her friend pouring on the floor, but when the view was completely free she saw that Riku's red and blue outfit was empty.
The lips of Nobody trembled. She took a shy step forward and then snapped through the winning laughter of Pete, which flooded the room, and reached his friend's inanimate clothes. Alongside the suit, there was the lucky charm in the shape of a Paopu fruit. She picked it up instinctively and clenched it between her hand and the copy's glove.
"Riku?!" she called desperately. "RIKU!"