Chapter 9: Prankster Paradise: Riku's Side
A/N: We're on Riku's side again! Looks like he's going to have to face some demons from his past with this world he's about to step on. Least he's not at the Beast's Castle, that's a whole other can of worms lol.
Just wanted to let you all know that I've started at Tumbler page for this series! There you will find random facts and trivia about the series and learn some new things about the characters that haven't be revealed in the stories! If you wanna know more about your favorite characters just type in 'trail of memories fanpage'.
Now let's get on with the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, I just own my oc's.
Enjoy!
/
Déjà vu was the only thing that came to Riku's mind when he looked around Monstro's mouth. He didn't know how or why Monstro was part of the sleeping worlds, but he figured if a programed world could sleep then maybe a whale could as well.
"Pinocchio! Son! Where have you run off to?"
Riku saw Geppetto on a broken ship, scanning the wreckage that Monstro had swallowed up.
"Isn't that Geppetto? Why is he still trapped within Monstro?"
Carefully making his way across the slippery surface of the whale's mouth, Riku made it to Geppetto's ship.
"What seems to be the problem?"
Geppetto looked shocked that there was someone else trapped inside Monstro.
"Goodness, who are you?"
"I'm Riku"
Geppetto looked at Riku sadly.
"Oh, Riku, you poor lad. Seems you were swallowed up by Monstro just like the rest of us. My name is Geppetto, and I'm looking for my son, Pinocchio"
Once again, the feeling of déjà vu hit Riku with full force.
"Pinocchio's gone missing?"
"I'm afraid so" Geppetto said sadly.
"After all my searching, I found him here in the whale. But then he ran off again to who knows where"
Riku's stomach dropped as he heard this.
"That sounds kind of…familiar" he said slowly.
Of course, it was familiar. The last time he was inside Monstro, he was working for Maleficent in hopes of saving Kairi. The evil sorceress made him go on tasks to help her find the princesses of heart that could then be used to open the door to darkness. One of those tasks was to capture Pinocchio so she could see how a puppet was able to move without a heart.
Looking back at that time, he couldn't believe he was willing to stoop so low as to kidnap a child for Maleficent. He was thankful that Sora and Hikari kept him away from the little boy because he would have never forgiven himself if anything had happened to poor Pinocchio.
Thinking back to his current situation, he wondered if this was a chance for him to redeem from his past actions? He obviously knew where Pinocchio was hiding in Monstro, so he would be able to find him and bring him back.
He knew this had nothing to do with the exam, but he really didn't care. It was the right thing to do and he would be able to fix the mistakes he made in the past.
"Mister Geppetto, let me look for your son" he offered.
Geppetto looked surprised that a stranger would offer to help.
"You would do that? Are you sure?"
Riku nodded. "Of course. Leave it to me"
He went to leave the ship when he was stopped by Jiminy.
"Did ya say you were really going to help us find Pinocchio?"
Riku was about to ask the cricket why he was here and not with Sora or Hikari but remembered this was a dream version of him.
"I am. Do you have any idea where he could have gone?"
Jiminy scratched his chin.
"Well, I'm almost certain he wandered off with a stranger"
"Can you describe them?" Riku pressed.
The more information he had the easier it would be to find Pinocchio.
"Hmmm…. I remember he was dressed in a black coat"
There was one person that came to mind when Riku head 'black coat' and it wasn't good. If that Mysterious Figure was with Pinocchio, the he was bound to hurt the little boy. He needed to act fast before the worse could happen.
"Thanks for the info" he said as he walked away.
He didn't get far when Jiminy jumped onto his shoulder.
"Well, I'm going with ya. Pinocchio's gonna need his conscience and that's where I come in"
Riku thought that was probably a good idea. If Pinocchio saw a familiar face he would be willing to go back with Riku.
With that in mind, he walked further into the whale, hoping he would catch Pinocchio before the Mysterious Figure took him away.
/
It wasn't hard navigating through Monstro. They were inside a living animal so there really was only one way for them to go.
Riku tried to remember where Pinocchio went the last time he was here and hoped he was ok. He still couldn't stop feeling guilty for what he did in the past. What was he thinking? Trying to kidnap a child for the sake of saving a friend? This was one of the many reasons why he felt he didn't deserve the Keyblade or the title of Master.
'A real wielder of the Keyblade would never resort to dark measures to help his friends. I really am pathetic'
Sunny went over to him and nudged him on the arm.
Riku looked at the ram and smiled a little. He couldn't help but think of Taiyouko when he looked at his Dream Eater. Whenever he was down or thought badly about himself, Taiyouko would just grab his shoulder and give him a reassuring squeeze. She always knew when he needed her and would always give him advice when he felt lost. Despite being Hikari's mother, she acted like his own mother and treated him like a son.
'Wish you were here, Taiyouko. I could really use your advice right about now'
Jiminy spotted something up ahead and pointed at it.
"Look!"
A little farther ahead of them was Pinocchio holding hands with the hooded Mysterious Figure.
Riku ran after them, hoping to catch them before they got too far.
"Pinocchio!"
Pinocchio and the Mysterious Figure stopped walking to turn to them.
"Jiminy!"
Riku summoned his keyblade and aimed it at the Mysterious Figure.
"Let him go. Now!" he ordered.
The Mysterious Figure didn't do anything for a moment, which bothered Riku. Then, surprisingly, he gently pushed Pinocchio towards Riku and Jiminy.
The little cricket jumped off Riku's shoulder and rushed over to the little boy.
"Thank goodness. Are you alright? Riku and I looked everywhere for ya"
Pinocchio nodded.
"Uh-huh. I'm just fine. Sorry about that, Jiminy"
Riku glared at the Mysterious Figure, stepping in front of Pinocchio in case he decided to take the boy again.
"Why were you trying to take Pinocchio? What do you want?"
The Mysterious Figure pulled his hood back. Instead of seeing the creepy boy who had been following him at the start of his exam, he was shocked to see-
"Me?!"
He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Staring right back at him was his younger self. He looked just like he did when he left the islands for the first time…like he did when he gave into the darkness.
This couldn't have been a coincidence. First, he appeared in Monstro to recount events that had happened in the past, and now he was seeing his past self.
"Why are you here? What's going on?"
His past self didn't say anything. Opening a dark portal, he simply walked through it, never to be seen again.
"As I live and breathe…who was that?" Jiminy said.
Riku looked at the ground sadly.
"That was my…my dark side" he said quietly.
"I gave into the darkness once. And ever since, it's chased me around in one for or another. The Seeker of Darkness who stole my body…a puppet replica of the shadows in my heart…and now I'm facing me"
Pinocchio tilted his head, clearly showing he had no idea what Riku said.
"Gee, Riku, don't you have a Jiminy like I do?" he asked.
"He's my conscience. He's taught me all kinds of important stuff. Maybe you just need somebody to show you what's right and wrong"
Jiminy nodded.
"Yeah, you can't shoulder all your problems alone, ya know. You must have somebody-a friend you can talk to?"
Riku looked at Sunny to see her approach him and nudge his arm once more. He smiled as he stroked her face. While he conscience wasn't here like Jiminy, she was still close to Riku, showing him the right path to take.
"Yeah…actually I do" he said gently.
"That little nudge she always gives me-she's the best teacher I could ever have"
The moment was ruined when Monstro started to suddenly tremble violently.
Knowing something was off, Riku picked Pinocchio up and set him on Hika's back.
"Pinocchio, Jiminy, you should head back. I'll see what's shaking things up"
He gave Hika a meaningful look.
"Take them back to Geppetto and stay with them until I come back. I won't be long"
Hikari took off to the mouth of Monstro while Riku and Sunny headed to the whale's stomach.
Whatever it was that was causing the whole place to shake, he hoped it wasn't because it was something the whale ate.
/
When Riku made it to the stomach, he wasn't surprised to see a Nightmare wreaking havoc. The CharClawbster kept shooting off fire from its claws and burned the walls of Monstro's stomach. Riku knew it wasn't a good idea for this to continue. If Monstro got seriously hurt because of this then he could only imagine what would happen to Pinocchio and Geppetto.
Getting onto Sunny's back, he tried to defeat the lobster like Nightmare while making sure to not give Monstro an upset stomach.
Sunny jumped around the stomach, making sure to keep the Clawbster in the open so it wouldn't accidentally hit anything.
Riku tried to figure out what would be the quickest way to get ride of this thing. He really couldn't fight it since it would surely upset Monstro's stomach with all the commotion. Magic was tricky too cause if he missed hitting the Clawbster, he could do a lot of damage to Monstro's body.
There had to be a way to win this fight without any negative setbacks.
As Sunny kept dodging the Clawbster, Riku noticed that the ram was avoiding greenish looking puddles. He thought that was odd but realized they were in the stomach so that had to be stomach acid.
'Stomach acid usually breaks down food. I wonder if it can break down Nightmares?'
Seeing no other options, he decided to test his theory out. Urging Sunny, he got the Clawbster's attention and lead it towards the acid. The ram sprinted full speed into the largest looking puddle and at the last second, she jumped over to the other side.
The Clawbster wasn't so lucky as it slid into the acid. Sure enough, the acid was strong enough to melt the Nightmare. The Clawbster let out a painful cry as its body melted away. Riku and Sunny watched as it slowly melted away before denigrating into dark particles.
Riku let out a sigh of relief when the Nightmare was gone.
It seemed this exam showed that a battle could happen literally anywhere and to survive you needed to think fast and use everything to you advantage.
/
When Riku made it back to the mouth of Monstro, he was relieved to see Pinocchio and Jiminy safely reunited with Geppetto.
He knew this didn't fix what he did in the real world, but it made him feel like he corrected one of the mistakes he made in the past.
He recalled something Taiyouko told him before he took his exam. He remembered feeling just as guilty back then as he did now about his mistakes, but Taiyouko told him something the suddenly sunk in.
/
Riku stood near the docks on the mainland, staring at the small island that he and everyone went to. It never occurred to him that such a small place would be the starting point to a huge adventure. He was there when this whole mess with Xehanort started and he was there when Mickey informed them about the Mark of Mastery exam.
Who knew such a small place would hold such importance?
"Riku!"
Taiyouko walked over to him.
"Everyone's getting ready to go see Yen Sid. You all set for the trip?"
Riku nodded as he looked back at the ocean.
"Yeah. I just needed a moment to myself"
Taiyouko didn't need to say anything to that. Being Riku's traveling companion for so long, she knew how his mind worked and how he tried to grasp certain situations. That's why they made such a good team.
"I bet you must be excited about this exam. You'll be a full fledge Keyblade Master then"
Riku didn't say anything to that. Why should he be excited over something he didn't deserve?
Taiyouko tilted her head slightly.
"You having second thoughts?"
Riku shook his head.
"Not exactly. I'm not nervous about taking the test"
"But?" Taiyouko gently pressed.
Riku just hung his head shamefully.
"Do I even have a right to take it?" he finally said.
"Sora and Hikari deserve it. They helped so many people and saved countless worlds. But me? What did I do to deserve this chance?"
Taiyouko placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
"You do deserve this, Riku. Sora and Hikari weren't the only ones who saved the worlds. You helped them when their memories were tampered with at Castle Oblivion, you were one of the people who destroyed Organization XIII. You have every right to become a Master"
"No, I don't" Riku said.
"I gave into the darkness once. I became Ansem's puppet and almost harmed my best friend and the girl I love. If I hadn't made those mistakes, then maybe none of this would have happened"
Taiyouko didn't say anything. She knew Riku still felt guilty for what he did in the past. She never blamed him or judged him by his past actions though. She had made plenty of mistakes herself so who was she to judge?
Still, she couldn't stand seeing this sweet boy carry such a weight on his shoulders.
She pulled Riku into a hug and gave him a tight squeeze.
"We all make mistakes, Riku. Its just what people do. Some are silly, and some are dire, but in the end we're all going to make a few in life. You might not be able to fix them all, but you can at least learn from them. Just because you made a few mistakes in the past doesn't mean you're a horrible person"
Riku didn't say anything, instead he returned the hug. It was times like these that he was reminded how thankful he was that he had Taiyouko as a traveling companion.
Taiyouko smile gently as she held the boy that she considered as her second son. Even though Riku acted very mature for his age, deep down he was still a teenager and like most teenagers, he still needed advice.
"Even if I can't be with you during these exams, know that I'm always here for you" she said gently.
"No matter how many mistakes you make or how you struggle, I'm always going to be in your corner"
/
Riku smiled as he recalled that memory.
"Thanks, Taiyouko" he said quietly.
What she told him was true. He made mistakes in the past and he was sure to make more in the future, but in the end that was ok. He was only human, so he wasn't going to be perfect.
'I may not be able to fix the mistakes I made in the past, but at least I can learn from them' he thought.
'And with that knowledge…maybe I'll have what it takes to be a Keyblade Master'
/
A/N: Awww, that was some wise words from Taiyouko. I gotta say out of all the friendships that we've seen in this series, Riku's friendship with Taiyouko has got to be my favorite hands down. They've both done things in the past they're not proud of and they don't judge each other from it. They get that the other has gone through hell and they try to help each other out as best as they can, be it giving words of advice or having each other's back in a battle.
They're basically an example of what Terra's relationship with Erauqs could have been if they didn't hide things from each other and have trust issues lol.
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Take care!
