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Chapter 5: Riku Replica
Catatonia.
The Riku Replica lay crumpled against a wall, head lurched to one side in a way that would probably be hazardous to his health. You know, if he were a real person. As it was, he's probably just have a very sore back for a while, if he ever woke up. No one had bothered to make sure he was comfortable before they'd all run off in the excitement. Not that the Replica would be at all surprised, were he not catatonic.
Yes, he'd been taught the hard way to have brutally low expectations of his peers as regarded their attitudes towards clones. If he ever woke up, man, would they have it coming. Unfortunately, his heart and his body had somehow gotten disconnected. A side effect of being artificial, perhaps, but a nuisance all the same.
He had to find his heart.
"We'll remake your heart."
No, he didn't want to remake his heart. You can't build something from nothing, after all.
"We'll give you the prettiest little fake memories anyone could ask for."
The woman was obnoxious, sneering out at him from the depths where his heart should be. He didn't want fake memories. He just wanted his heart back.
A lone drip echoed from deep in the bowels of the castle, the only movement left, life abandoned inside the long-deserted stronghold. He could see it, now, a tiny patch of ice left over from one of Vexen's many battles, relaxing and melting down the walls now that its job was over and its master was gone.
The Replica's eyes were glazed over, pupils faded in such a way as to betray his status as a creature somewhat other than human. He stared unseeingly at a patch of marble floor a foot or so in front of him, unfeeling as the weight of his body cut off artificial blood flow to his crumpled legs. Silver bangs tumbled in front of his face, so that to a casual passer-by, it may appear that he had simply decided to take a very uncomfortable nap.
The Riku Replica was nothing but a broken doll, tinkered and toyed with until mangled beyond recognition, then tossed aside when no longer of use.
"Riku. Riku, I'm scared."
The stars were falling, and Naminé was afraid.
"Don't worry, Naminé. I'll protect you."
His earliest memory. But that memory wasn't his. The memory didn't belong to him, or anyone else- it had been invented, just like he had. Merely a shadow of a true memory, falling apart at the slightest prodding. The memory wasn't his, and it shouldn't be inside of him. Where were his true memories? The ones that were his, and his alone?
"We'll remake your heart."
No, thank you.
"We'll give you the prettiest little fake memories anyone could ask for."
Thanks, but no thanks.
"You are my greatest creation yet," Vexen told him when he'd first woken up. The Replica thought that was a little clichéd. Apparently when he'd gotten Riku's physical data, he'd picked up enough information to be able to copy his personality, as well. A true replica, down to the smirk.
"Would you like to meet the real thing?" Yes, he would. He wanted to see where he came from. He'd been excited, then, knowing he had a twin brother somewhere, and that he would get to meet him. Maybe they could compare abilities. Competition is the fuel of progress, after all, at least that was what Vexen had told him.
Then he met Riku.
Riku, the real Riku, the original, had been nothing like what the Replica had imagined. He was afraid, cowardly and weak, sniveling before the Replica, armed only with half-hearted sarcasm and a sword in a quivering hand. Riku was nothing. He belonged neither to the darkness nor the light, trapped between and unable to choose.
"What are you supposed to be?"
You, Real Thing. You the way you ought to be. An example of your true potential. A trick of a mirror to encourage you to dip into your own personal darkness, release the power you held and ally yourself with the Organization. The Replica was a tool at best, one more tool to wedge between Riku and his friends, pointing him towards the darkness and away from the light.
Some part of him had realized that already, before what they did next.
"We'll remake your heart."
No.
"Riku. Riku, I'm scared."
Naminé was his world. Another nameless soul, just like him. No-name Naminé, a no-name Replica, both lost in the bowels of a castle that destroyed hearts. He might as well be dead, but then, where would his heart travel if he were dead? Or did he even have a heart? A true heart wouldn't have been so easily taken away. Right?
No. His heart wasn't gone. Naminé wouldn't do that to him, not his Naminé. The memories were just hiding, deep below the crusty outer fake emotions he'd been given, asleep and waiting to be awakened. They'd been waking up, too, when he met Sora.
Sora.
Sora thought he was the Real Thing. Sora wanted to take Naminé away from him. Naminé chose Sora.
"No!"
That was it. He'd found it. The moment where his heart had shattered. Naminé had yanked the strings from his heart and sent him plummeting down into oblivion, picked Sora over him, left him for dead. That was where he was now, he was sure of it without even opening his eyes. Naminé abandoned him here, so he'd stayed, and waited for her to come back.
"Don't worry, Naminé. I'll protect you."
But did she need him? She broke his heart all on her own- a power like that, and the girl hardly needed to be protected. The only purpose he had left had been snatched away from him, and now he was crumpled and lost, like a broken doll. Naminé, the very last link between his heart and his body, Naminé had abandoned him. That meant he really was just a miserable copy, then, unable to do anything at all on his own, lost without his handlers. Was he lost without Naminé?
His existence had to be worth more than that.
"We'll remake your heart."
No. He would remake his own heart.
"What are you supposed to be?"
Myself.
The Replica's eyes slowly drifted back into focus, painfully at first. The trip out of catatonia was long and difficult, like swimming up a waterfall, but he was determined to succeed. As he awoke, memories, names, and faces drifted back to him through the mist, reaching deep into his mind and pulling him upwards. He wouldn't let Larxene, the Real Thing, Sora, or anyone else break his heart, not even Naminé. Her face was the last to come back to him, soft and ethereal, smiling at him faintly over her sketchbook, handing him a charm.
He blinked, and then his eyes finally opened.
A throbbing pain in his chest helpfully reminded him that his heart had recently been broken, but he couldn't deal with that right now. Both of his legs were asleep, and his neck was so stiff it was barely moveable. With a grunt, he jerked his head until his neck and spine snapped into full motion, causing him to sit up much too quickly and inhale a desperate, life-saving breath, which immediately triggered a pathetic coughing fit, which ultimately resulted in the Replica's undignified collapse onto the cold marble floor.
Ok, take two.
The Replica pushed himself up using his arms, the only part of his body that hadn't been somehow incapacitated by his uncomfortable sleep, though his wrists were a little stiff. Once he was upright, he leaned himself against the wall he'd been leaning on before, carefully extending his legs to allow them a chance to recover. Each breath was deep and shaky but still managed to comfort him just by knowing that he was breathing because he was alive. He'd escaped the dark recesses of his mangled brain and was now awake, staring out at the blank white castle, vaguely unsure of where he was yet knowing at the same time because after all, he'd never been anywhere else.
Yes, his mind was a little shaky. He'd have to get someone to help him repair it. And the only person who could help him repair it was the same person who had broken it in the first place.
Naminé.
She was still in the castle, he knew it. She was nearby, too, maybe on that next floor, just up those steps. And as soon as his legs started working, well, she was going to get a piece of his mind. Satisfied with that decision, the Riku Replica lay peacefully against that same wall, drifting in and out of lucidity, consumed by one single thought, the thought that freed him from catatonic stupor.
I'm myself.
The Riku Replica is my very favorite Kingdom Hearts character. If the world had more Riku Replica fic, then the world would be a much happier place indeed. Mm hmm. Sorry that more didn't happen in this chapter, it's just, the most important thing was getting him to wake up. No worries, he'll get to his Naminé soon. Speaking of which...
Next Chapter: Sora/Roxas