I finally am ready to continue this. While nowhere near as popular as Kamina the Adventurer, this story has gotten some good criticism. I'm going to stop writing in script format, though, for I've gotten more comments on that than anything else. I originally thought it would be easier, but I'm not able to add as much detail this way. I therefore conclude that this experiment with writing styles was a failure. Maybe when I have the time, I'll rewrite all the chapters for all my stories done that way, but in the meantime, onward with the fanfic!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, I would at least answer this one simple question: WHAT IN THE NAME OF JACK SKELLINGTON HAPPENED TO TRAVERSE TOWN?
To say that the Riku Replica was shocked would be an understatement. Not only had he been saved by Namine, but he had somehow regained all of his memories from before they had been erased. Not that there had been much to start with, for he hadn't been around for very long before being mind wiped, but that was besides the point. But before he could ask any questions about what had just happened, Namine spoke.
"I know you're confused. It's perfectly understandable. But unfortunately, someone is about to arrive and I have to talk to him. It'll take a while, but I answer any of your questions as best I can when I return. After all, you deserve a lot after everything you've been through," Namine spoke calmly and sweetly, reassuring the Riku Replica. The pretty young blonde girl then began to walk towards another room, leaving RR to contemplate everything that had happened thus far.
Firstly, RR realized smugly that both Vexen and Larxene had paid for what they had done to him: Vexen had allowed him to be implanted with false memories with the slightest remorse, then had been eliminated by Axel, while Larxene had beaten him to a pulp twice and was the one to suggest that he have his memory altered in the first place, and Sora had made sure that her malice had come full circle.
"Good riddance to a cold-blooded scientist and a sadistic witch," muttered RR quietly.
Secondly, he realized that other than Namine, no one knew he was here. He hadn't seen Sora since Marluxia's defeat, and Riku thought that he had done him in. Out of all the organizations members stationed here in Castle Oblivion, only Axel was still alive, and after Axel and him had parted ways, Axel said to RR that the rest of the organization didn't even know about his creation and that he'd prefer it if it stayed that way, though why RR didn't know.
Riku Replica had mulling over this for about an hour or so before Namine returned.
"Sorry for the wait," Namine said sweetly. "But I had to speak to the real Riku about something important. Now it time for me to talk to you. As you've probably realized, no one other me knows that you're here right now. Sora, Donald, and Goofy are having their memories restored, but when they wake up, they won't remember this castle at all or anything that happened here. Riku isn't aware that I brought you here after your fight, and since you're still not at full strength, not he nor anyone else will be able to sense your presence. King Mickey may or may not have known about you, but if he did, he only knows what Riku does. Axel was watching the fight between you and Riku in secret and now mostly likely believes that you're dead, and while I can't tell exactly where he is or what he's doing, he doesn't seem to bother coming anywhere near this floor. And…"
"Hold up!" interrupted RR. "There's someone else who knows about me?"
"Yes," replied Namine. "His name is DiZ, and he's been guiding Riku since he arrived here at the castle. DiZ isn't here right now, though, and he won't be back for a while, which means we have some time to talk."
RR sighed with relief. "You had me worried there for a moment."
Namine smiled. "I apologize. And now, for my promise. What questions do you have?"
RR was silent for a moment before responding. "My first question…" he begins. "…is how in Kingdom Hearts did I manage to get all of my memories back?"
Namine answered, "I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do that. Rearranging memories typically doesn't work like that. But unlike with Sora, I didn't gradually replace your memories. I merely pushed all of your memories so deeply into yourself that it was almost like you had been completely wiped clean. I also didn't edit memories like Sora's of Kairi, I just added my own. To bring back all of your other memories, I merely had to pull them back up."
"Makes about as much sense as anything, really," RR responds. "Am I free to go?"
Namine looks confused. "Huh? You're ready to leave?"
RR answers, "Yeah, pretty much. Still have some things I want to take care of before I go, but I'm hitting the road immediately afterwards. With the second chance you've given me, I'm gonna find myself and a new path to follow. So I'm going to travel from world to world until I do. And once you're done restoring Sora's memories, I'd like it if you would join me."
At this Namine blushed, but why she could not explain. Nobodies aren't supposed to have emotions, but there have been times where she would almost forget. "It will take a lot of time, but once I'm done, I…think I'd love to take you up on that offer…if you're willing to wait."
"Effectively, I'm less existent than any of the nobodies at this point, so I've got no reason to rush," RR reassured her. "Besides, I think I'll check up on you every once in a while, whenever you're alone. However, I'd recommend moving, seeing as how Organization XIII still holds sway over this place."
"Right," responds Namine. "So what are you going to do now, Ri-um…?"
RR comes to Namine's rescue. "If you're afraid of calling me Riku or Riku Replica, don't worry."
At this RR raises his hand, causing R, I, K, and U to suddenly appear in front of him in giant black letters. "As much as I want to become someone completely different from Riku," RR states. "And as much as I hated how the Organization treated me, I owe them both. Vexen gave me life, and I was based on Riku, so without either of them, I wouldn't be here right now. Therefore, my new name will show will be the one sign of gratitude I can offer them."
RR spins the letter around like a mini-cyclone and then places his hand in the center of the circle, causing the letters to stop, all while placing an additional letter, an enormous X, in the middle. With the letter arranged differently before, plus the addition of the X, instead of R-I-K-U, the letter now read…
"My new name is…Kixur."
And there you have it, folks! Took me a long, LONG time, but it was worth it. All of my stories are in need of updating, but seeing as how this one has climbed to the top of the polls, I made this one my priority for the moment. I definitely made it clear in this chapter a certain pairing I'll using, though seeing as how romance is NOT the main element of this story, don't expect much, especially this early on. I have two other pairings in mind, but seeing as how I'm not really anywhere towards bringing those characters into the mix, I don't see a point in revealing them just yet.
I know updates have been slow, but surprisingly, it's my own head that's been the biggest contributor to the problem. I keep having ideas for fanfics bounce into my head every five minutes, and some of them are so closely related, I don't know what to do with all. This must be how George Gershwin felt.
Anyway, I think what I need is a partner, someone to take some of my many ideas of my hands, for I refuse to let them die when I haven't even given them life yet. Only SOME ideas I'm willing to do this for, though, so you'll have to ask if you want to know. Anyway, thanks for reading and please leave some reviews!
