towerofanimus

Entry tags:

001

Characters: Riku and OPEN
Setting: Dormitories + Floor 20-18
Format: Action, though I'm fine with Para if that's more your thing
Summary: Waking up in a new world with no clue how he actually got there is not entirely new, The sleep paralyzis and the collar are both however pretty original. Needless to say, Riku is not amused.
Warnings: Non... for now. Will add as needed.

[Riku awakens with a low groan, blinking beneath the cloth of his blindfold - what is he doing here; hadn't he just been in the World That Never Was, watching, waiting for just the right moment to intercept Roxas? His mind goes blank with panic for just a moment - he can't move his body, why can't he move his body - memories of being drowned by darkness, of a malicious laugh, of losing control over of himself, rising, rising...

He snaps himself out of that thought, scolding himself, doing his best to push away the fear and disgust of the thought of being possessed again. He can't dwell on anything like that, can't grant the faint, amused whispers in the darkest corner of his heart any more power over him.

Finally, after what feels like eternity, he finds himself able to move again, immediately jumping of that bed, twirling around, trying to orientate himself, to get a feel for this place he had found himself at... how had he drawn here; was this perhaps another trap of the Organization... just like Castle Oblivion?

He flips up one half of his blindfold; frowning as he reads over the two letters... the Islands destroyed!? As if he'd believe that, he thinks with a snort, absently reaching up to his throat, expression tightening at the feel of the collar around his neck.

Someone is playing with him.

Letting the cloth fall back into place, he draws up the hood of his cloak to hide his tell-tale hair - even if this is an Organization trap, even if they know that he is the one posing as one of their own, he isn't about to make it easy for them - and then he is off to explore the hallway and the nearby floors.

Time to find out just what kind of mess he has stumbled into this time and how to get out of here and back to where he should be. The rest of Sora's memories won't return to him by themselves after all.]

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[A year before, Riku might have rushed forward to meet him, but he has learned patience since and a few other tricks that are more than helpful, especially when the enemy is rushing straight forward like this Sora-clone is now.

Instead of moving to dodge or block with Soul Eater, he turns his left palm up, gathering magic and releasing it to summon a Dark Shield, the spell glimmering right before him, Soul Eater ready to counter the moment the other broke through it.]

[Sora hides his surprise. He needs to, because it could lead to him messing up. Still, he slams his Keyblade into the barrier, pressing against it to force it to shatter. He's prepared, though, to fight and kill the other boy.]

So, how did you survive? And where'd you get that sword?

[Riku doesn't even bother to reply to any of those questions. Instead he shifts just slightly, twisting the blade in in preparation for a forward thrust before he lets go of the magic and moves.]

[Sora is caught off guard. Sure, Riku had been good at sparring when they were kids, but sparring is different from, well, years of fighting. So, then, how is he as intuitive at this? Like he'd fought for his life before.

Still, he manages to mostly dodge, taking the injury to the side while quickly charging a Dark Fire to blast at him.]

[Weeell, just maybe he has.

He draws back, retreating to create some distance between them, Soul Eater up in guard stance, readying himself to block the blast.]

[Another barrier flares to life around Riku, but this one isn't a construct of dark magic. It's unquestionably light and very distinctly someone else's magic -- it even carries her scent, if Riku recognizes the smell of clear water and mountain air that came with a certain mysterious woman who visited the islands a decade ago.

A well-aimed Blizzard spell collides with the brewing Dark Fire to extinguish it -- it's a small precision spell, intended to nip the attack in the bud, not to hurt Sora.

Suddenly, Aqua is in front of Riku, gusts of what have to be Aero magic swirling out from beneath her feet and quickly dissipating. Master Keeper is held out in front of her, the teeth aimed downwards in a guard position. Her back is to Riku -- she knows he's well-protected by her Reflect spell. Her attention at the moment is on Sora, and though she sounds stern, her voice has an undercurrent of sympathy in it.]

Sora, stop. You don't have to do this.

Wha--!?

[Sora is surprised by the reflect spell. But even more surprising is who is behind it. Aqua... For a moment, his heart tightens. She would protect him--? No. No, she doesn't know. How could she?]

Yes, I do! I have to erase everything that causes me pain to the best of my ability! And he's one of those things, forgetting everything! Abandoning me just like my parents!

[Riku startles slightly, when that foreign spell springs to life around him, when that foreign and yet so strangely familiar woman suddenly appears before him, her back turned as if to protect him.

He isn't sure, if he should be annoyed or touched by that.

After all, not!Sora isn't the only one with a motive to carry on.

He keeps his weapon raised; while he has no intentions of breaking the spell around him (for now) or of stabbing her in the back, he is certainly prepared to continue this fight. When his speaks up, his voice is quiet and tense, but not threatening.]

You shouldn't interfere.

[Aqua doesn't know how well she'd be able to handle it if they both decide to attack her. She reaches for her magic, making sure that she can form it into a Stop spell just in case.]

I'm not going to let you both destroy each other.

[The very fear that had kept her from giving Sora a Keyblade in the first place was unfolding in front of her eyes. Too many flashbacks -- sparring Terra, fighting the possessed bodies of both of her friends before falling to darkness. She couldn't let this happen to them.

But how does she explain herself when everyone still has weapons pointed at each other? What's adequate to diffuse this situation?]

I don't think that the two of you know each other in the way that's causing you to fight.

[She turns, so that they flank each side of her and her back is to neither of them. Her weapon remains raised, magic tingling at her fingertips. She knows why Sora is attacking Riku. But...]

Riku, why are you attacking Sora? [She can't sort this out if she can't see the whole picture.]

[Diffuse the situation? At this point, with the way she is going that's not really likely.

Right now, she is just a bystander to Riku, but one with a Keyblade, which automatically calls for a certain amount of respect (...which is probably one of the reasons why Riku hasn't moved yet) - he has to remember to ask her about that later on.

The accusation - him attacking Sora - stings, for one because it calls to memories he'd rather not think about right now, for another because it seems that she really believes that the other, that mockery of his best friend, is the real thing, when it couldn't be further from the truth.

He can't quite keep that mostly suppressed anger out of his voice when he answers.]

That is not Sora.

[Oh. That's...harsh.

She understands why he's angry -- he has a right to be. She doesn't hold it against him.

And then, suddenly, something occurs to her; that other Ventus, talking to her on the network...Roxas, coming to her and asking if she thought that he and Ventus could be the same person from different worlds -- universes?

Her voice is patient when she speaks to Riku. Her goal isn't to make him angry.]

Okay. Maybe he isn't the Sora you know. Why do you think he's not?

[She's very careful not to say that Sora isn't the real Sora. That's extremely unfair to him, and she's not taking sides here. And another thing, which she accentuates by looking at Riku:] I'm not trying to place blame. But no one will understand anything that's going on here if this fight continues.

[And that "no one" includes her.]

[Sora is growing impatient. He can be patient for a bit for Aqua--she had, after all, comforted him. He owes her that much. But still... What Riku's said is quickly pushing him.]

Well, he sure looks like Riku. So what? Are my memories faulty or something?

[There can't be more than one Riku, can there?]

[Harshness is the nature of truth.

The wording of her question makes the anger twist in his stomach - 'not the Sora he knows'? What other Sora would there be? What other than a fake?

He knows he is threading a thin line - he can't let himself be controlled by his temper. But at the same time it's hard, because to much here triggering him. She might not understand, but as she isn't involved anyway.

But if she insists...]

Why do I know he isn't? I know, because the real Sora has been sleeping for ten months and counting, his memories picked apart and sown out into the worlds by the same people that most likely created that.

This isn't the first time I see a replica. [Though, calling that a 'replica' seems like an insult to Xion's sacrifice, to his death.]

[Aqua frowns, first turning her attention to Sora.] I'm not saying that at all. I think your memories are just fine.

[She speaks in a gentle voice, trying to soothe Sora. She doubts she would be able to calm down Riku, since he has no reason to allow her influence over him, but she can at least try to make Sora feel better.] ...I think he may not be the Riku you know, Sora. [Again, she is careful not to accuse anyone of being "real" or "fake".

She then looks to Riku, keeping her voice level.] And I don't think that Sora is a "replica". [Not that she's ever encountered one of those, but she knows what the word means. But, how can she prove...?] ...I'm the one who gave him that Keyblade. [Aqua isn't sure how much that information will help, but it's probably worth saying.

And now, the crazy part, but if she doesn't keep talking, then it's looking more and more likely that they'll keep fighting.] I spoke to a double of one of my best friends. He had a completely different set of memories. And another of my friends was worried that he might be an... [What was the phrase?] "Alternate universe" version of someone we know.

So I don't think that anyone should jump to conclusions.

[She then falls quiet. Surely it's obvious what she's getting at?]

...Alternate... Universe...?

[...He'd read about them. A long time ago. In Dad's books. But that... Doesn't make any sense. He's scratching his head now, Aqua.]

...How's that even possible?

[It's hard not to shake, hard not to dismiss just about everything of this - because that guy? That isn't, that can't be Sora. He refuses to believe it.

It's hard not to just lash out angrily, because giving away Keyblades to that, to a fake brat that treats the darkness like a plaything (stupid, stupid, stupid, just like he once had been), talking like she knows anything about everything; just who does she thinks she is?

(And who is she anyway, for that matter.)

But instead of lashing out, like he once might have done, he just pushes those feelings deep, deep down, only expressing any misgivings by pressing his lips into a line, and with him still hidden beneath his hood, there is no way to tell that anyway.

A moment later, he dismisses Soul Eater - he can recall it at any time after all - that being the only sign that he might be willing to listen.

For the moment.]

Edited 2011-12-27 22:44 (UTC)

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