oathbreakers | [010//Audio & Commentlog] BUT REALLY THERE ARE NORMALLY -SIX- WALLS...

[Everything's back to normal now. No weird age changes, he's not stuck in some girl's body, and he managed to make it through the past two days without finding himself trapped in someone else's body! All in all, an interesting week. But today something odd is going on--today, there are plenty more people than he's seen on this boat before.]

So where are all these new passengers coming from? There's a lot more than usual. And I thought I saw...

[He trails off. He was fairly sure he'd seen someone who looked just like the girl he'd met at the masquerade... but she'd been -different-, too. It was almost like there were -copies- of people here, too.]

Never mind. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the forest.

[That's where Riku's going to be spending most of his day, but it's not the only place you'll find him. Riku's working on that treehouse again, and so he needs tools. He'll be rummaging through the luggage on deck 12 for nails and a hammer and all sorts of fun things, he'll be outside the forest on deck 3 to take a swim, and later on, he'll be in the caverns, not for any real purpose but instead just to think.

You'll find him anywhere, all over the ship today, so feel free to run into him anywhere!]

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[Xeha-Heartless, guess what.

Incoming Dark Firaga, aimed right at your head. That voice coming from off to the right is also rather familiar, if a bit older-sounding, and the venom in his tone.] I thought I was finally rid of you.

[Should you turn your head in that direction to look, you'll find an older Riku stepping out of the shadows, with the Way to the Dawn in his hand. The presence of a younger him is surprising, no lie, but you're the obvious threat here.]

[When Ansem first introduces himself, Riku is surprised. He hadn't thought that the man was still around, not the way Maleficent had talked about him!]

You're Ansem? But you're--

[He stops himself, strengthening his resolve. -Then- he'll respond to Ansem's questions.]

I don't kn--

[Whoops, your connection has been dropped. Might've had something to do with a Dark Firaga blast. Riku cuts himself off as the voice, -his- voice, even older he'd recognize it anywhere, comes from his side. Riku turns, his mind already racing to catch up with this new development, and there is someone who looks just like him stepping out of the shadows.

Someon--no, with everything that's been going on, it probably -is- him.

Riku just stares.]

[Keep staring, younger Riku. At least you could be comforted by the fact that you do get a good growth spurt at some point within the next year.

Meanwhile, this Riku's eyes are still locked onto 'Ansem', his grip on the hilt of Way to the Dawn tightening. When he speaks again, it isn't to 'Ansem', it's to you, Riku.] Don't listen to him. Giving yourself over to the Darkness isn't going to solve anything.

[Funny. It sounds like he knows from experience, if that touch of guilt he couldn't keep out of his voice is anything to go by. Might want to ask him about that later.]

Come, Guardian! [Before the firaga can even come close to impact, the dark familiar of Ansem's stands before him, blocking the magic attack.] Oh? Two of you now?

[He folds his arms across his chest then, yet there's an amused smile on his face.]

Don't make me repeat myself, boy. [It's spoken towards younger!Riku before his turns his full attention to the older one.] You're still a fool, I see. A brat who's heart still fears the dark even after obtaining it.

What can you possibly hope to accomplish by intervening? Still so stubborn.

[Knowing that he'll grow and tower over both Sora and Kairi again -is- a faint relief in the back of his mind, yes. But Riku's more concerned with both of these newcomers and their apparent dislike of one another--hey, don't just start this sort of standoff without any explanation!

So Riku pipes up, folding his arms over his chest. He sounds disdainful, but the older!him at the very least should know that that's just how he reacts to situations like these.]

Hold on. Why don't the two of you explain what's going on here, first?

[Yeah, yeah, he knows they're likely to still be at odds, and that either of their stories might be the "wrong one," but he can still pick up a few things even from that. And that's better than not understanding anything like he does now, though he can certainly venture a couple guesses.]

Ah, though perhaps meaningless, [The Heartless begins, amber eyes cast towards the younger!Riku once more, but his Guardian's focus still on the older silver-haired teen.] desiring an explanation is understandable.

Surely you will at least allow such a request? [The question is for older!Riku, though he does not bother waiting for a reply as he begins to speak once more.]

You opened your heart to the darkness after much debate and stubbornness, child. [He's speaking back with the younger of the two.] You accepted the darkness within your own heart — accepted it as your weapon — had stopped resisting. Yet... you were still weak. I gave you the dark and yet you denied me.

Had you not refused me, you would have been able to amplify the darkness inside your heart. You established a relationship with the Heartless, having matured to an existence that had secured the power of darkness, yet you still had doubts. Still held fear within.

That is all. [He finishes with a flick of his hand, as if the whole ordeal had been a trivial matter, one that had not concerned him greatly.]

Yeah, I accepted it all right--but it wasn't enough. Sora's Heart was--is, still stronger than mine. You can probably imagine that I didn't take it so well.

Then I did something stupid--I let him into my Heart. [The anger in his voice is only eclipsed by a combination of self-loathing and guilt.]

I couldn't do anything but watch as he used my body to try and take Kairi's Heart from Sora with a black Keyblade made from the Hearts of the other six Princesses. [He smirks slightly here, though it's not the nicest-looking one.]

I was actually glad he won that fight, but watching him pick that stupid Keyblade up and stick it in his chest to let Kairi's Heart out... I wished a lot of things on Sora then, but becoming a Heartless wasn't one of them. [He turns his attention back to 'Ansem', and the smirk leaves his face entirely. He's still addressing his younger self when he speaks up again.]

You'll only regret giving up everything for the Darkness--it didn't save Kairi in the end, only put her in more danger. [And the subtext? 'And I was too blind to see it.']

[Riku listens to the two stories in silence, his expression carefully blank, at first. He's already gained the power to control the Heartless--he still had doubt? ...yeah, it's true, he supposes. No matter what, he's still wary of Maleficent, still doesn't trust her wholeheartedly. Especially what he's learned from Kairi about the princesses--it all stinks of the idea that she might be trying to lead him to ruin, instead of helping him.

And what of the older him? Does he believe in him? As Riku's telling his tale, the younger boy scowls, but the expression is quickly gone. Sora took a Keyblade and stuck himself with it? Even angry as he is at the other boy, Riku agrees with his older counterpart--he -doesn't- wish becoming a Heartless on Sora. Not now.

But the hidden meaning in Riku's last words make him frown, his expression setting.]

If you're me, you should know I won't put Kairi in danger.

[There's a small smirk beginning to come to his face. It's weird, but he feels like he can trust the guy, even in spite of how differently he's acting. He doesn't know whether the older him will pick it up--he -should-, Riku thinks--but he'll put Kairi above anything. Maybe even his grudge against Sora.

If working with Maleficent will put Kairi in danger... maybe, now that he's found her, he can take her away from the witch.]

[010//Audio & Commentlog] BUT REALLY THERE ARE NORMALLY -SIX- WALLS...

I'm. sob I'm really sorry, but. Threadjack.

1/2 /cracks up/ No, don't worry about it! This is too great.

2/2 Just forgive my multi-part reply 8D

your multipart reply, it is forgiven ♥

slips back in here~ (without typos >.>)

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I miss edit buttons. ;A;

I know your pain ;; /just watched account run out ALSO TL;DR WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE DX