Chapter 6: Unpleasant
Riku and Alpha stopped finally in front of a door in some part of the Castle Riku wasn't sure he'd been in before. To Riku's immense surprise, Alpha pulled out a key to unlock this door. He didn't know any of the rooms in the Castle could be locked!
"Deactivation..." Alpha said, slowly. "Well, to put it simply, it's the kind way of killing a Replica."
The door swung open, revealing what was in the room. There wasn't much. A desk with a computer and a stack of books and—most noticeably—a Zexion Replica slumped against the wall, apparently unconscious.
"Delta," Alpha answered, noticing where Riku's gaze was fixed. "He's been Deactivated."
"Uh, right," Riku answered, mouth suddenly feeling very dry. He'd known this, in hindsight. Known that all Zexions but Alpha had been Deactivated, though he hadn't bothered asking what the word meant until just now. And... if he trusted his memory... "You Deactivated him, didn't you?" he asked Alpha, turning to meet his eyes. "You Deactivated all of the other Zexions."
Alpha turned his head away. When he spoke, there was a chill in his voice. "I can't say it was my best idea," he answered, coldly. "But what's done is done."
Riku moved over to examine Delta, as Alpha moved to boot up the computer. Minus the fact he wasn't breathing, the calm look on Delta's face and the way his eyes were closed could have suggested he was merely asleep. Riku prodded at him. (Delta didn't respond.)
"So... you killed him, basically?" Riku asked of Alpha.
Alpha didn't look at Riku. It took him a few moments to reply. "Basically," he agreed, but there was an edge to it. "I didn't actually kill him, though. When a Replica's killed, they vanish, just like a Nobody or Heartless might. Delta's just been..." He fumbled with his words for a moment, and then took a deep breath. "Deactivating a Replica means you turn off all of the functions that keep them running," he explained, a distance in his voice. "Until he's Reactivated—if he's Reactivated—he's going to remain like that. As good as dead, yes, but not actually."
"Sounds like hell," Riku remarked, straightening.
"Mm," was Alpha's noncommittal response. After a second, he added: "Deactivation, of course, should not be confused with Disabling. Disabling temporarily shuts off a Replica's functions so their Data can be safely edited—temporarily being the keyword there. A Disabled Replica's functions will return online within an hour so long as their Data is not currently being edited or processed."
"Gotcha," Riku said. He supposed that was nice to know. He sent another look over at Delta. "Why'd you Deactivate him?"
"I'd rather not talk about it, Riku."
"Alright, alright." Riku held his hands up in surrender. "Any other reason you brought me here, besides introducing me to your dead friend?"
"He's not dead, and he's not my friend," Alpha answered, sharply. He turned to send a glare at Riku. "And I thought, maybe, it wouldn't hurt to show you the process behind Deactivating Replicas, since you're so interested."
Riku raised his eyebrows a little, wondering Alpha actually intended on Deactivating some unsuspecting Replica right now. But "Sure" he said, because, he was curious. He had no idea how the Replica Program worked in the other universe, let alone here. It'd be interesting to know.
"Watch," Alpha said, pulling up a program on the computer. Riku glanced over his shoulder. A very long list flickered onto the screen. "This is the Replica Archive," Alpha explained, gesturing at the program "Every Replica that was ever cataloged is in here."
Riku examined the list closer. Each Replica was listed with a number, name, and their current status. Most Replicas were 'active', but Riku did notice quite a few that had been 'deactivated', others had been 'eliminated', a few were labeled 'rogue', and there was one that was labeled 'failed'.
"You see, if I wanted to Deactivate a Replica," Alpha said, scrolling down the list. "I would simply do something like this." He clicked on a few things, and then at last came to a page that was completely filled with letters and numbers.
"What's that?" Riku asked.
"Code," Alpha replied simply. "What all Replicas are made of. Some call it Data. Or use the two interchangeably."
"Huh," Riku muttered. "So you can edit it however you like?"
"That's how Replicas work, yes," Alpha answered. "Though actually enacting edits requires the Replica to be hooked into the computer. And no one would just casually Rewrite a Replica's data, anyway. Changing a Replica's personality or anything else willy-nilly to fit your liking was not what Master Vexen built the Program for."
"Then... why make it even possible to edit Replicas?" Riku asked.
Alpha sent him a you've-got-to-be-kidding look, and answered, deadpan: "Because you have to be able to edit a Replica's data in case something goes wrong with it. How do you think the Repair Program works?"
Riku squinted a second, trying to remember what he knew about the Repair Program. He'd never used it himself, but... Didn't it edit a Replica's data to remove any injuries they'd recently received, or something like that? Either way, he understood what Alpha was getting at.
Annoyed, he shook his head. "More importantly, doesn't it sound right up Saix's alley to Rewrite Replicas however he wants?" Riku demanded.
"Yes, and, the bad news is he has the passwords that allow him to do so," Alpha said. "But the good news is he can't run the Program himself, and any Vexen he has who can would be too appalled by the idea to carry it out. The better news is that if he desired to Rewrite any one of us, he'd have to physically drag us kicking and screaming to The World that Never Was to do it."
"I guess that is good news," Riku admitted. "But can't he just, Deactivate a Replica and then Reactivate them once he's Rewritten them?"
"You can't Rewrite a Deactivated Replica," Alpha explained. "And Reactivating a Replica requires hooking them up to two separate computers, having two authorized personnel press the same button at the same time, and a password that only Master Vexen knew. So every Deactivated Replica is Deactivated for good, now."
"Oh," Riku said, feeling a little guilty. He supposed that was his fault, since he'd killed this universe's Vexen. Just another thing about this whole Rebellion mess that was technically his fault, because he'd killed Vexen.
"Anyway... I believe I was in the middle of showing you something?" Alpha said.
"Oh, yeah. Right." Riku bent in to look at the computer over Alpha's shoulder again.
Alpha inputted a few commands, and then a message box appeared on the computer screen. It asked if Alpha wished to Deactivate whichever Replica it was he had open. When Alpha clicked yes, it asked for a password, and Alpha sighed, gesturing at the screen.
"Of course, Saix has that password too," he said. "But that's how it works."
"Wait…" Riku said slowly. "You can Deactivate a Replica with just a clicks and a password?"
Alpha shrugged. "Yes, and I've heard rumors that Saix is working on making it easier."
"Easier?"
Alpha nodded. "Apparently, he can Deactivate a Replica with just a snap of his fingers. Or, he's working on making the process as simple as that, at least."
"What does that mean for us?" Riku asked.
Alpha frowned. "Us?" he asked. "You're not in our archives. You can't be Deactivated if you haven't been cataloged."
Riku supposed that must mean he couldn't be Rewritten, either, which was comforting. But...
"What about Namine?" he asked, hastily.
Alpha raised his eyebrows, thinking about it. "I don't think she's been cataloged either. If memory serves, Vexen was destroyed before he could catalog her, and she hasn't been in Castle Oblivion since. I couldn't imagine that there's a possibility that she has been cataloged."
"Can you check?"
Alpha shrugged, and then proceeded to check. After a moment of searching, the computer came up with nothing. "She hasn't been, then," Alpha muttered.
Riku let out a small sigh of relief. "Anyway," he said, clearing his throat. "As I was asking, if Saix is working on making the Deactivation Process that easy," he emphasized his "that" with a snap of his fingers. "Won't that be a problem for the Rebellion?"
"I think not," Alpha replied. "If Saix does make the process that easy, he's bypassing all the basic protocol that would be necessary for the process to remain efficient. While, yes, he'd be making it simpler and quicker, he's eliminating the possibility for Distance-Deactivation. He'd make it so he's only able to Deactivate Replicas that are in close proximity to him."
Riku frowned, taking a second to make sense of that. "So it's going to be better for the Rebellion?"
"I wouldn't say better, but... perhaps not as horrible as it would seem..." Alpha said, slowly.
xxx
He wandered through the endless darkness, just trying to find something. He was sick of being alone in this emptiness.
"How long have I even been here?" he wondered. "It feels like ages, and yet… like no time has passed at all."
"Such as time always passes, here, in the Realm of Darkness."
Sora looked up, and scowled. It was Ansem who had spoken. "You again?" he asked. "I thought I got rid of you."
"You can never escape me!" Ansem declared.
"Yeah right," Sora said, and then summoned his blade. Or, attempted to. It didn't come to his call. "Ah, nuts!" he muttered, glancing at his empty hand. He turned to glare at Ansem. "Just leave me alone," he snarled, and then turned and walked off.
He had only been walking for a bit before he stopped. "I said stop following me!" he snapped over his shoulder.
"But I can help you," Ansem replied.
"I'm not falling for that one again," Sora muttered tersely, as he continued walking.
"You cannot survive in a darkness this deep!" Ansem called after him. "You will eventually fade! I can lend you strength-"
"No!" Sora shouted. "I'd rather fade into darkness than submit to you again!" He pulled out his old wooden sword. Feeble weapon it may be, it was better than having no weapon at all. He rushed forward, striking at Ansem. It did him no good, though it did make him feel a bit better.
"You'd rather fight me!" Ansem laughed, probably only because Sora was fighting with a wooden sword.
"Yeah," Sora shrugged. "I'll fight you until I fade, if I must. There's no chance I'm giving in!"
Ansem just laughed harder. "Foolish boy," he said. "You won't be able to fight for long. Sooner or later, you'll submit."
"Will not!" Sora declared, readying sword. To his slight surprise, in a sudden flash of blinding light, the wooden sword changed to his Keyblade. He grinned and then charged, dealing a heavy blow.
Ansem staggered back, shocked. "Impossible!" he gasped.
"Go fade back into darkness," Sora laughed, watching as Ansem began to do just that.
"I can't fade!" Ansem cried, and then was gone.
Sora let out a sigh of relief, and his Keyblade disappeared. "Ansem's gone," he muttered. "Now how do I get out of here?"
He glanced up, noticing a faint light in the distance.
"What's that?" he wondered, taking a step forward-
Sora woke up in shock and immediately clutched his head in pain. After a moment, the dream faded, and the pain subsided, leaving Sora clueless again.
What was that? he wondered. Did I just remember something?
If he had, he definitely didn't understand it.
It obviously wasn't something important then… he concluded, before rolling over and attempting to go back to sleep.