Chapter 3: Riku
"Wake up, Sora."
Sora, upon hearing the voice, groaned and pulled his sheets over his face. He didn't think of it then, but the voice was not Eraqus's and there were no other people in the world. However, he had barely gotten any sleep that night and had no energy to get up or to figure out who was speaking to him. He was physically and emotionally exhausted. Chasing after that orb really wore him out, and learning that he would eventually have to forget his own master hurt him deeply. He stayed up for hours after Eraqus left his room, just thinking. And now this? A wake up call at four in the morning, when it was still dark out and he was finally able to fall asleep? No way. Keyblade wielders need their sleep too.
Underneath the protection of his covers, he shut his eyes tightly figuring that if he feigned sleep, the voice would just go away. However, the logic of a sleeping person is never adequate. The voice remained.
"Come on, Sora." A chuckle. "All you ever do is nap! I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you even sleep while you're sleeping."
It was then when Sora's eyes shot open. He instantly recognized the voice. How had he failed to do so at first? The voice was sarcastic and rude, but it brought him great comfort. It could have belonged to one person and one person only. He bolted straight up and stared, wide-eyed, at the dark figure sitting across his room.
"Riku!" Sora exclaimed.
At dawn, when Eraqus awoke, he was surprised to see Sora and Riku sparring outside.
"Giving up already?" asked Riku, tauntingly. "I thought you were stronger than that."
Before Sora could make his witty rebuttal, he locked eyes with Eraqus, who stood watching them both with a solemn expression. Just looking at Riku was enough for him to sense that something was wrong.
"Master Eraqus!" Sora exclaimed, not sensing what he did. He waved obliviously. "I dreamed up a Riku!"
"Hey," interjected Riku with a mixture of amusement and offense in his voice. "What do you mean 'a Riku?'"
Sora laughed in response, and Riku mirrored such laughter.
Eraqus approached the two boys, expression never changing. "Sora..." he began as he slowly pieced the puzzle together in his head.
"Who's this?" asked Riku, briefly scanning Eraqus from head to toe. He was no longer smiling.
"This is my keyblade master," Sora explained. "He's helping me keep my heart strong." He sounded proud just saying that.
Eraqus did not speak. He was done figuring out the puzzle and did not know how to break the news to Sora. It would be unwise to just come out with it. Sora's heart just wouldn't be able to take that.
Riku crossed his arms. "I don't know about him," he said. "Are you sure you can trust him?"
Sora looked confused. "Of course I can trust him," he declared, upset that Riku had even suggested such a thing. "What's the matter with you, Riku?"
"Well, I guess if you say so," Riku said in a plain and unconvincing voice.
Eraqus gave Riku a strange look, and then he looked to Sora.
"Sora," he said. "I will be sending you to other worlds today. It's possible that you will encounter old enemies in these worlds. There is a moogle shop, I believe, on the second floor. Make all of your preparations and come back when you're ready so I may further explain the task at hand."
Sora shot Riku a glance, but did not directly address him. He looked back to Eraqus. "Alright," he agreed before rushing off.
Once he was gone, Eraqus turned back to Riku with an accusing look.
"I know who you are, truly," Eraqus said. "You know as much as I. Why continue to torment him? You must be the one to tell him. I cannot. It would shatter his heart."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Riku said aloofly.
"You are just a dark memory of a replica," Eraqus said sternly. "And he's confused you for the real one."
Riku's tone grew bitter. "I may be just a memory, but so are you. He has to forget you too."
Eraqus showed no change in emotion to such a brutal comment. "You cannot continue this," he said. "You know as well as I that he must forget you. Do you not care for his wellbeing? His heart cannot take remembering more than a single Riku, and he needs the real one."
Riku's voice went quiet; it was almost inaudible. He lowered his gaze. "Of course I care about him," he said. "I just...I've always wanted him, me, and Naminé to be best friends. After he forgets me, I'll have nowhere else to go. But in a dream, in this dream, I can be the real to him for at least a little while. Please, Eraqus, give me just a bit of time with him. Then I'll tell him the truth and...and go away forever."
Eraqus's expression softened. In an attempt to emphasize with the replica, he said, "Alright. You may have some time, but remember, memories...never truly go away. A part of you, no matter how small, will remain inside of him even after he forgets you. No matter what." It seemed as though, by saying that, Eraqus was trying to comfort himself, too.
"I don't know about that," Riku admitted sullenly. He slowly lifted his head to look back to Eraqus. He appeared hesitant to continue to speak, but did so anyways. He seemed eager to speak about anything but himself. "Why did he pick you? To guide him, I mean," he said. "His heart could have picked someone he knew, but it didn't. It picked you, someone he's never met before. Why?"
Eraqus stared at the sky. "I do not know," he answered. "It was not my decision to make. Sora is connected deeply to a past student of mine. My thoughts are that it was that student that chose me, not Sora. Sora's heart just trusted in his decision and then created me from my student's memories. Yet, why that student would choose me, of all people..." his voice grew distant and distressed. "I haven't a clue. I have done nothing but hurt him. Why he still trusts in me is..." he spoke as if forcing himself to continue, "it is beyond me."
The silver haired boy gave a simple, "Oh." He did not know the context behind the master's pain and decided it was best not to ask.
Eraqus looked back to Riku and offered a genuine smile. "Sora will be revisiting the worlds he visited in Castle Oblivion today, as Naminé has chosen to wipe his memories of those revisits next. Do you wish to accompany him? Perhaps you can play a part in restoring his heart as well."
Riku visibly jumped at the offer. He studied the man standing before him with no longer a look of suspicion, but one of curiosity. He knew nothing of him, and neither did Sora, so why was it so easy to trust him? "Alright," Riku agreed, concealing his thoughts with a good poker face. "What do we have to do?"
The master took a pause as if to think about it. "Forgetting too much at once can prove to be too much for Sora's heart. In every world you two visit you will find a crown shaped card with a picture of that world on it. Collect all the world's cards and bring them here. Here, Sora will be able to forget the revisits to the worlds at a safe, gradual rate without having to leave the protection of this world."
Riku nodded. "Sounds easy enough," he said cooly. "But," his voice went quiet, "when do you think it would be best for him to forget me?"
"Well..." said Eraqus, "the most suitable place, I suppose, is in his home world. That is where his memories of the real one belong and where memories of you can fade away into."
Before Riku could respond, Sora returned with a look of eagerness on his face.
"What's today's mission, Master Eraqus?" he asked as if he didn't have a care in the world.
Eraqus explained it patiently. "You must collect twelve, crown shaped cards. There is one in every world. Riku will go as well and assist you. Once you've collected all the cards, return here at once."
Sora grew excited. "Riku can come too?" he asked sounding like a child on Christmas morning.
Riku flashed a smirk. Eraqus simply nodded, but he couldn't help but to smile too.
Sora grinned. "But how will we travel through the worlds?" he asked.
"That is for you to decide," Eraqus said vaguely. "You must dream up a way."
Sora became visibly distressed. "But I don't know how to control the dream," he reminded him.
"Oh come on, Sora. It can't be so hard," Riku interjected. "Just think about what you want. It's a dream. Anything goes."
Eraqus was swift to agree. "That is correct, Sora. You can do it. I know you can."
Sora, listening to the supportive words of his friends, nodded. He shut his eyes tightly and lifted two excited fists. It looked as if he was wishing on a shooting star. For a moment, he stood like that, wishing long and hard. His eyes then flickered open, and parked before the trio was the gummi ship.
"The gummi ship!" Sora said, almost as if he were surprised.
Riku and Eraqus were even more surprised. Neither expected such a colorful, massive vessel.
Riku in particular appeared the most amazed. He stared at the thing for quite some time. "I'm driving," he said, rushing towards it without thinking twice.
"Hey!" Sora called out, ready to run after him.
But Eraqus said, "Sora."
And Sora turned to him. "Yes, Master Eraqus?" he asked.
"While I am not with you, be sure to take good care of your heart," he said.
Sora looked puzzled. "You're not coming with us?" he asked, excitement draining from his face.
"I am bound to this world. I am not a separate memory, as Riku is, but a part of how you remember this world," Eraqus explained briefly. "I cannot leave and cannot be there with you, so please, Sora. Take care of your heart. Along the way, you may or may not have to forget...certain things, certain people. Forget only what you think you must, and trust in this whole process. Forgetting can be painful, but that pain is what will make you strong."
"Don't worry about me, Master Eraqus," Sora said with a smile. "Me and Riku will be back soon." His voice was assuring, but he looked somewhat nervous. He glanced over his shoulder to look back at the gummi ship.
When he did, Riku honked the horn as if to hurry him up.
Sora, who got the hint, exchanged his final farewell with Eraqus before rushing over to the ship.
Ever since entering the ship and blasting off, something about Sora seemed off. He was quiet and hadn't said much of anything at all as they flew. He only stared out the window watching the stars. Riku was quick to detect that something was wrong, but decided not to mention it until Sora wanted to. He, in that moment, felt as if he really was his lifelong best friend.
"So Eraqus wants us to collect cards, huh?" Riku asked as he steered the wheel. He looked, every now and then, at Sora through the rearview mirror. "If you ask me, that sounds pretty boring. Why don't we make it a little more interesting?"
Sora, upon hearing that, perked up almost instantly. "What do you mean?" he asked, looking away from the window and at Riku.
"Whoever collects the most cards wins. Fair enough, isn't it?" asked Riku with a smirk. "Winner gets a special prize."
Sora was quick to accept the challenge. "Okay, Riku," he said, sounding determined to win. "But what's the special prize?"
Riku laughed out loud. "You're such a kid, Sora," he said, conveniently neglecting to answer the question.
Just up ahead was Wonderland. Sora was the first to spot it.
"Look, Riku!" he said, jumping out of his seat and everything just to point at it. "It's Wonderland!"
Riku nodded. "I guess we'll go there first." He drove the gummi ship to the world and landed.
The world cards were fairly easy to obtain. In Wonderland, the card was on the ceiling, and Sora, who knew the world well from his last visit, got to it first. Afterwards, however, it took him hours just to find Riku, who had gotten lost in the queen's maze. In Agrabah, the card was in the treasure room in the Cave of Wonders; again, Sora got to it before Riku could because of how well he knew the world. In Atlantica, however, Riku proved to be the better swimmer and found the card hidden in a clam below the sunken ship.
In the Hundred Acre Wood, Sora found the card in a hunny pot while Riku made a friend out of Piglet, of all people. They stayed there for some time playing mini games and beating each other's high scores. When they eventually left and got to Neverland, Riku flew for the first time and found the card on Captain Hook's ship while Sora nearly lost almost all of his munny to a swindling moogle.
In Halloween Town Riku found the card in the Guillotine Square fountain. It burned a bit, sticking his hand in the green ooze, but it was "worth it." At Traverse Town, Sora received the card in the First District after mailing a postcard he found on the roof of the synthesis shop.
When they got to Olympus Coliseum, the "goat man" who "couldn't count" as Riku referred to him as, told them that the world card would be given as a prize to the winner of the "games." Eagerly, the two boys entered in different brackets so that they'd have to face each other in the end. When the two clashed, Riku was the stronger one and beat Sora, though it was almost the other way around. In Monstro, Sora found the card in the whale's stomach, but he couldn't find Riku for some time. That world was always so confusing to him. At Hollow Bastion, Riku found the card in a hidden treasure chest inside the castle.
Sora had five cards, and so did Riku. The score was tied, but there were still two more worlds to visit.
The next world on the map was Destiny Islands.
Sora, who was the prime driver now after Riku nearly crashed into Halloween Town, hesitated to land there. "We should go there last," he said with no further explanation. He went around that world and instead proceeded to land in the world that was somewhat unfamiliar to him: Twilight Town.
There, Riku asked why Sora he had skipped his home world.
Sora wouldn't say.
The two searched the abandoned mansion first. After searching everywhere there, they only found cobwebs and dust. The card was, in fact, in the woods being guarded by a large, heartless boss.
"You ready for this?" Riku asked as he summoned his weapon.
Sora nodded. "Yeah," he said, and they both attacked.
All the while, Sora seemed suddenly distant. He let his guard down often and got hit by attacks that he could have easily avoided.
Riku noticed his abrupt lack of motivation and put in an extra effort to defeat the heartless. When it was eventually defeated and released its large heart, Riku picked up the card the heartless left behind and handed it to Sora.
"You know what?" he said. "Forget this whole contest. What's wrong?" He crossed his arms.
Sora shook his head and forced a smile. "It's nothing, Riku," he said. His eyes lit up upon realizing something. "Hey, I think they sell ice-cream here!" He ran off into the direction of the town. "Come on!" he said, leading the way.
They sat on the edge of a clock tower as Sora had insisted. There, they ate a bar of blue, sea salt ice-cream each while watching the sunset.
"I know I came to this world before in Castle Oblivion," Sora began slowly, "but I feel like I've been here before that. I mean... I don't know. I feel like I've sat here here, on this same clocktower, eating this same ice-cream. It feels like a home to me, but I know it's not my home. Or, is it? Do you think this feeling is part of one of my jumbled memories, Riku?"
Riku stared longingly at the sunset. "Maybe," he answered with a shrug. "Or maybe not. Who really knows?" He took a bite out of his ice-cream.
Sora sighed lightly. "You know," he said with a trace of sadness. "I had a lot of fun with you today. All I've ever wanted was to travel the worlds with you and her, so, thank you. I'll never forget the fun I had with you." He smiled.
Riku looked to him through his peripheral vision, unable to even look him in the eyes. "Why does it sound like you're saying goodbye?" he asked softly. A part of him already knew the answer, though he was too stubborn to admit it.
Sora stared down at the ice-cream in his hands. "I know you're not the Riku that's supposed to be in my memories," he said.
Riku nearly choked on his ice-cream when he heard the confession. He stared, wide eyed, at his friend. "You knew?" he asked.
Sora nodded. "I didn't know at first, but I think I figured it out after hearing what Master Eraqus said. I knew you weren't the real one, and I should have told you that I knew. I'm sorry. I just...I didn't want to have to forget you. But I know that I have to. And I also know that the place I'll have to forget you in...it's at Destiny Islands, right? That's why I didn't want to go there. I wanted to be with you for just a little while longer." He held his ice-cream stick tighter.
"Hey," Riku said gently. "You won't miss me. Even after forgetting me, you'll still have the real one, remember? That's the one you need. You'll be fine."
Sora looked to be on the verge of anger. "But where will you go once I forget you? You'll have nowhere else to go! I can't let that happen."
Riku shook his head and looked back at he sunset. "I'm a replica, Sora, not a person. You don't have to worry about what happens to me. Besides..." He felt himself smile. "Memories can be forgotten, but they always remain a part of you no matter what. If anything, I'll fade away into your heart. And you know what? I'm okay with that. As far as I can tell...your heart is the biggest, warmest place a guy like me can fade into." He took another bite out of his ice-cream.
The two said nothing more.
On the gummi ship, Sora, attempting to lighten the mood, asked Riku what the "special prize" of the card collecting contest had been, because technically, he had won with six cards. Riku only laughed in response. Apparently, there had been no special prize at all.
Sora circled Destiny Islands three times before landing to further delay being having to forget the replica. He said whatever he could think to say in an attempt to embrace the last few moments he had with him.
Then, they landed. The moment had come.
The sat by the shore side by side listening to the gentle waves as they crashed against the sand. The world card eventually came from the ocean in a bottle that landed by Sora's feet.
After Sora picked it up, Riku was the first to speak.
"It's time," he said, looking to him.
"Okay," Sora said with a serious nod. He closed his eyes tightly and tried to forget. However, when he opened his eyes, Riku was still there, now frowning.
"I can't," Sora said, feeling helpless.
"Come on, Sora. You have to," Riku insisted. "I know it'll be hard for you, but you have to let your heart forget."
Sora continued to try, but he held himself back without even knowing. "I can't, Riku. I know you're his replica, but you just seem so real to me." He held a hand over his heart and lowered his head.
Riku winced upon hearing his words. He felt real to him?
"You wanted to see me, Naminé?" asked a blindfolded Riku as he walked over to the Nobody.
Naminé, seeing the blindfold for the first time, looked at him curiously, but did not address it. Her voice was small. "Sora's having trouble forgetting his memories of your replica," she said, sounding apologetic. She held her hands close to her nonexistent heart. "I think he's scared of forgetting the real you in the process."
Riku turned to face the sleeping Sora. "Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked.
"Actually, yes," she said shyly. "I think that you should say something to him. He needs to know that even after he forgets your replica, he'll still remember you."
Riku stiffened. Since day one, he knew he if he spoke to Sora, Sora would be able to hear him. Even so, he hadn't said a single thing to him. All along, he had been keeping it all to himself, bottled up inside. Perhaps now was the perfect time to finally let it all out. He took a deep breath and placed a hand on the pod. "Okay," he said to Naminé. "I'll try talking to him."
"Sora. Keep trying," the replica urged.
Sora shook his head. "I can't," he said, shutting his eyes.
"You won't forget me, Sora," said the faint voice of the real Riku. "You have to trust me."
Sora opened his eyes rapidly. "Did you say that?" he asked the replica. The boy said no.
Sora looked to the ocean.
"I won't leave you once you forget him," the real Riku went on. "I...I won't ever leave you again, okay? Look. I'm...sorry. For everything. I really am. I am so sorry, Sora. But we're trying to fix your heart now, and to do that, you have to forget everything from that castle. Even my replica. Look, just close your eyes and listen to me: I won't ever leave you again. Never forget that."
Sora closed his eyes slowly and repeated the words in his head.
I won't ever leave you again.
When Riku stopped speaking, Sora opened his eyes. The replica no longer sat beside him. In his place was a single chain link.
When the gummi ship landed back in the Land of Departure, Eraqus was already there waiting for not two, but one person to emerge.
But when Sora did come out, his eyes and nose were red and puffy, and without saying anything, he threw himself into Eraqus's open arms.
Let me know what you think in the reviews. Suggestions, cristisms, questions, concerns, whatver the heck. Also, I'd like to thank every single person who has made it this far into the story! Without your support I would have given up on this story long ago. So: thank you! Xxooxo Also, I was thinking of turning Repliku and Sora's journeys around the worlds into a series of one shots. More in depth I mean. I was gonna include the in depth adventures in this chapter but it felt too...out of place? What do you guys think?
