Paper Trail [Terra, Open]

[Riku Replica]

Riku had always been competitive.

That said, it wasn't usually his thing to spend half an hour smacking buttons in a frenzy of impatience and anxiety. The arcade recalled a few visits to the pier with Sora and the sticky sweet smell of cotton candy, so he'd avoided it for months anyway. Only recently it called him back in. He told himself it was just to look at the models, but it became pretty clear right off the bat that he wouldn't be understanding much about them without cracking open their shells.

And then he saw it.

Whoever entered their initials as RIK wasn't him, and chances were it wasn't Riku, either. He was probably too busy off with Sora to be making high scores here. But that didn't change the fact that RIK held the highest on the space shooter with the aliens up the side.

He knew it was dumb.

He knew it was meaningless.

The Replica fumbled for quarters anyway.

It felt like fighting him again, and how weird was that? There was no Real Thing here to deflect one move and counter it with the same attack, and yet it was like he stood right next to the Replica--glassy reflection smirking at every loss. Only once he watched the last mothership explode for the umpteenth time and the space cleared at the top did the Replica finally feel alone. The initials he would have put were already up there, and there was no ghost of the real thing around anymore to curse his victory.

He started to put in Replica and stopped. That wasn't him. But if he couldn't put in Riku, then...hm. He wasn't sure where he'd gotten the idea--dim memories of asking a question that never got an answer--but it made sense to him.

Leaving REX at the top of the charts, he stepped down and away from the system--petty but triumphant.

[Terra]

Such a strange world.

Everything was new to him, the moment he arrived to this place. Terra was amazed by the scenery of this place. Still having no memory of how he arrived here, he wanted to explore the city. What was different from the other worlds he visited was the fact that there were no Unverses or those so call Heartless. At least he didn't need to keep his guard up....for now.

Eventually he arrived at Percussion District. A nice place to start his exploration. Maybe he can get some answer of why he was here. Though he gotta admit that it was nice to have his old body back after the battle between him and Master Xehanort. It was something he just wanna forget about. No more will he let his heart be controlled by the darkness. It seems he was gonna be stuck here for awhile, meaning a new life. With a new life, there was one question that popped into Terra's mind. Will he ever see his friends again? He promised them that he'll make it right, but was it too late? He hoped not.

There was a lot of interesting building in this district. Terra casually walked down the street wondering what to do first. There was so many things he wanted to here, it was impossible to do them in one day. What to do, what to do? As he was trying to organize his thought, he saw something flashy up ahead. Terra eagerly ran towards that direction as it caught his eyes.

An arcade.

It was an arcade that caught his attention. There was a lot of games to choose from, he definitely wanted to try some out. However there was one little problem. He had no money. No money meant no games. But he couldn't resist trying at least one game. Maybe if he went inside, he can be lucky and find a quarter on the ground. Terra rushed inside and heard the sounds of winners and losers. Terra scoured the area to find a quarter, but something caught his attention.

Darkness.

He felt darkness nearby. It was a familiar presence, something he hadn't felt in awhile. He looked around and something that immediately caught his attention. In front of him he saw a silver hair boy just finishing playing a game. Terra may have no idea how he got here, but he knew immediately that that was Riku, the same young boy he met on Destiny Island. He has gotten much older but his looks wasn't something that caught his attention. There was darkness in him, and he had a feeling that this wasn't the real Riku he met.

No, this wasn't the real Riku. It was some sort of replica. Yet he had the same features as the real one that it almost caught him off guard. Terra needed to know who he was and what happened to the real Riku. Slowly he approached him, but kept his guard in case he does something funny.

"Riku? You're not the real Riku are you?"

[Riku Replica]

Stepping away from the machine was a catharsis in itself. The Replica had not forgotten what he was, but it was rare to stumble across things that made him think there could be another Riku not far from his apartment or workspace. As far as he was concerned, he made his own life now. He was grateful to Sora but neither of them needed the other in their lives, and he didn't care where Real Thing was, so another Riku in another world none of them could touch--the place where his heart went, in the end--was a Replica only to himself.

The only thing that still bothered him was the fact that there might not be anyone protecting Naminé.

But she was from another life too. A lie, and she'd keep him in it if he stayed near her. That didn't mean he didn't miss her, though--a girl the real Riku might not ever meet and certainly couldn't care this deeply for.

Still, the curtain dropped on the past and just to prove it--

"Riku?"

The Replica replied without a second thought, totally accustomed to the only name that would ever even slightly fit him. "Yeah?"

"You're not the real Riku, are you?"

He stiffened without turning. That voice was familiar to Riku but not to him, and he knew it. There was a kind of saccharine feeling to every memory that he knew didn't belong to him, like someone had tried too hard to dress it up or was too naïve to perceive them the way the Replica--Riku, rather--would have.

Slowly, and with distrust in his eyes, the Replica turned to face the stranger.

That guy...!

It was hard not to immediately look surprised, but he managed to only part his lips in the beginning of an aborted "You!" Of course, he still didn't know who this guy was--but only because Riku hadn't. There was something to do with a...no, it was gone. The memory got foggy there, like maybe someone had erased part of it. He was tempted to think he'd just forgotten, but it seemed too important to Riku, and the Replica carried those memories without the possibility of forgetting.

"Who are you," was all he said.

If this stranger knew what he was, the Replica may very well have been staring--finally--at his creator.

[Terra]

The way he reacted when he called his name, almost caught him off guard. At first he responded with a simple yes, but after that he just stood there. Was he surprised to see that someone knew him for what he is? Possibly. However he couldn't be too sure about it, so he needed more information. When he turned around, Terra stared at his face. He looked exactly like him. He hadn't changed a bit since he met him as a young child. But something about him wasn't right. Something was missing. Something important. There was so much going on, he couldn't get his mind straight.

When he turned around to look at Terra, his facial expression told the story. It was if he recognized him immediately once he saw that face. He was silent for a moment, still shock to see him. Terra didn't know what how to react to this. Should he say something? Riku was in an awkward situation...sorta, he wondered if he should break the ice.

Is something wrong? I didn't expect this?[/i]

Soon Riku said something and asked who he was. Terra didn't know what to say. Does he seriously don't know who he was? The real Riku would have never asked that question. That question ruled out the fact that he wasn't talking to the real Riku, but rather an imposter or a clone. He was silent for a moment, but finally spoke up.

"It's me. Terra. Don't you remember?"

Suddenly a thought appeared in his head about this replica. He remembered an event when his body was taken over by Master Xehanort. Years after that tragic event of him losing his body, he remembered that his body was now a scientist. His memory was not so good, since he was in his heart. But there was one event where he studied about the Heartless and finding Kingdom Heart. It was in a lab, he working on something. Something to do with cloning something. After that it was a little fuzzy.

Terra thought about this, wondering if it was possible that he could have created him? Impossible. He dropped the thought and focused on now. He looked at Riku with a confused look.

"Do you not know who I am? We met on Destiny Island when you were little. Anything?"

He wanted to test him to see how this clone really knew about the real Riku, and maybe have some answer on the whereabout of the real one.

[Riku Replica]

Terra.

The Replica was tempted to try it out on his tongue, but didn't. It fit the guy somehow, even though he looked far younger than he should--maybe because Riku was so little when they first met. It felt odd not to have him towering over the Replica now, the way he did in the memory--faint and splintered as it was.

Terra had influenced Riku more than he could ever know. To Riku, being called a sham to his face by such an idol might have done irreparable damage, but to the Replica it was nothing. Sora, his best friend, knew exactly what he was. A shadow from his past couldn't hope to affect him more deeply than that had.

"Anything?"

Of course the Replica remembered that much. He remembered the stranger and the talk of other worlds, but something else had happened--something important. Without even realizing it he was squinting at the stranger, trying to place him--trying to link those last few memories together until they formed the chain that bound his understanding. With those innocent eyes and that build, where had he seen...

The thought of Sora's eyes in Ansem's face sprang to mind before he could stop it.

Instantly the Replica's demeanor was nothing but cold. Maybe the real Riku would have given this stranger a chance, like an idiot, but Ansem's manipulation left scars that hadn't faded from the Replica's memory.

"Sorry," he snapped, sounding nothing like it. "You've got the wrong guy."

And he turned on his heel, because even though Terra had guessed right, the Riku he'd met on Destiny Islands was someone else.

[Terra]

Quietly Terra waited for an answer. Judging by his looks, there was something up with him. He wasn't a 100% sure if this was the same Riku he met on Destiny Island. Could he be the real one, or just an imposter? Soon his question would be answered. It felt like time had slowed down from the moment he finished speaking. This question really got into his head, and all he wanted to know if he was who he was.

If it turns out to be the real Riku, then what happen to him? This Riku is a totally different Riku he met back then. It was like as if there was more darkness than Terra himself. Darkness. This Riku had a lot of it. A lot of darkness, and yet something was missing. Something important. Then it hit him. This Riku had no heart. How could he not see it? With no heart, he had no emotions. And yet here he is looking like Riku.

Finally he spoke up saying he got the wrong guy. Clearly he did. This wasn't Riku at all. But why did he look so similar to him? So many questions. It was hard to process in his mind. So just who was he? Terra gave a look of disappointment when he heard the news, and looked down. If he wasn't Riku just who was he? He had to find out. As he was looking down, he noticed that this "imposter" had turned his heel as if he was about to walk away. Terra raised his hand to stop him.

"Wait. If you're not him, then who are you? Why do you look exactly like him?"

He wanted answers, and he wasn't going anywhere until he gets them. He'll do whatever it takes to get the truth out of him.

[Riku Replica]

The Replica almost kept walking when he heard the questions. It annoyed him that Terra even needed to ask, since he could spot a clone at ten yards--and made him wonder why Sora never seemed to pick up on it until someone said it to his face.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," he shot back over his shoulder. "Why don't you find the real Riku and ask him? Whatever that's supposed to mean."

Pretending ignorance only protected him so much. It didn't save him from the truth, since Real Thing would've contested that fakeness immediately, but it felt like he had a right now. He'd gotten deluded, started thinking of himself as another Riku who had nothing to do with the original--someone else entirely, even if he'd always be the same--and for someone from Riku's past to come in and tear all that apart in just a few words made his defenses go up.

That said, it bothered him that someone from his own world was here--or rather, someone from Riku's world. The Replica had to die to get here, so did that mean this half-remembered stranger had done the same? Or was there some leak from that world into this one? Could he end up running into Real Thing next? Sora?

Naminé?

"How'd you get here, anyway? Is this just another world?" After all, the Replica had probed the darkness for a way back until he grew convinced there wasn't one--all his dark portals only led him to other places in Symphony.

[Terra]

cTerra gave a disdainful at the imposter. Truly the real Riku would have never responded that way. His personality and appearance, gave Terra an uneasy thought of why this imposter exist. What really happened to the real Riku? Terra wasn't surprised that he didn't answer his question. With that attitude, who would? Asking the real Riku would be a good idea, but he hasn't met the real Riku here, so this imposter was his only choice.

"Well I'm gonna make it my business until I know what happen to the real Riku," he said in a serious voice. "And last I checked, I the real Riku hasn't been seen around in this world. So you're the best I got."

He wasn't going to take no for an answer. Seeing how he missed the last few years since losing his body to Master Xehanort, he wanted to know what has happened during that period of time. He thought of asking what has happened recently, but then again there was a good chance he wasn't going to answer that question as well. Even though his question might not be answered, he didn't simply brushed it away. Only to keep it in the back of mind for later. With him gone, he wondered whatever happened to Ven and Aqua. Did they make it too? He was lost in his own thoughts, when the imposter asked him a question.

"How'd you get here, anyway? Is this just another world?"

Terra hesistated at first. This was not just another world unfortunately. He wish it was. No, it was something else. How he got here was a mystery. All he remember was arguing with Master Xehanort on who controls his heart, and next thing you know he ended up here. So, how was he going to respond to that? Since he asked that question, he was going to ask him the same thing.

"It's.......complicated. I know for sure this is not some other world," he paused for a moment and continued to speak. "How about you? What's your story on arriving here?"

If he answered this question, maybe he would get a sense of what happened when he was gone. If he simply ignored it like last time, then he wouldn't be surprised at all. Yet, the one question that kept poking him, was why this imposter was full of darkness? Was he another of Vanitas? Maybe. Hopefully this imposter would stick around and answer at least one of his questions.

[Riku Replica]

At least that meant Real Thing wasn't around.

It was enough to have this guy coming in and crashing the party--if Riku himself were next, his Replica might just snap again. Why couldn't the old life that had nothing to do with him anymore just leave him be?

Though. If Naminé were to come back into his new life...

Daydreams got him nowhere. The point was this guy with Ansem's face was searching for Riku for some reason, and the Replica wasn't about to trust him. Sure, he didn't outright care about Riku's wellbeing, but in the battle between them the Replica had gained only one thing--respect for the boy he could never be. He might not lend Real Thing a hand but he also wasn't going to send in a known and hated enemy, if that's really what this Terra worked out to be.

The fact that the guy didn't have any idea how he'd gotten there didn't win him any points either. "I died," the Replica said simply. In a battle with another self, yes, but Terra didn't have to know which one reigned supreme. In a way he already did. "So I guess you're dead, too. If you wait around long enough, you're bound to run into the Riku you're actually looking for. I can't tell you where he is, because I don't know." True enough. Terra could suspect all he wanted that the Replica was lying. He could follow and pry and poke around and still find nothing, so the Replica wasn't responsible for how this stranger wasted his time.

"I don't remember you and I don't care what you're after. It's got nothing to do with me. So do me a favor, and call me Riku if I ever have to see you again, because there isn't another one around." It was probably pretty bold to shove past a guy Terra's size, especially when the Replica was so short, but he did it anyway and fought to ignore the way it wrenched his shoulder. OW, he's as tough as he looks... At least, anyway. It reminded the Replica of Lexaeus, and woe unto whoever ended up killing Lexaeus.