Luministi

[reflected]

Player Name: Ranko
Player LJ: weavingbalance
E-mail and/or AIM: AIM-> Rainykoi
Timezone: Central Standard Time
Current Characters: -

Character: Riku Replica
Fandom/Series: Kingdom Hearts
Original or Alternate Universe: Alternate Universe

Canon Used: The original Chain of Memories game up until the point where canon branches off into the AU. After that, the AU as described below. References to both 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts 2 are likely to pop up during the history.

Age: Physically 16, Actually closer to 1
Gender: Male
Species: Replica, i.e. a clone of an existing person

Appearance:  Appearance Link Here

Ila has light gray hair that falls past his shoulders in messy layers, pale skin, and vivid aqua eyes. His height is unknown in canon, as Riku's height is unknown in canon. However, based off of visual estimation (even though heights are skewed in Kingdom Hearts as a form of distinction between teenagers and adults), Riku is likely in the height range of 5'8" to 6" by the end of Kingdom Hearts 2. As such, an older Riku Replica would be the same height. For simplicity's sake, I'll stick with 5'11".

Whether he knows it or not, he chooses the same sort of clothing that the real Riku had chosen for himself by the end of Kingdom Hearts 2. Blue jeans just baggy enough to allow a full range of motion held up by a simple black belt, a sleeveless collared shirt with a double-ended interlocking teeth zipper, white 'skateboarding' shoes with gray trim on his feet, and instead of Riku's white wrist-warmer, he has two black wrist-bands and a pair of black gloves that don't quite extend past the heels of his palms. He lacks the white vest that the real Riku wears, though it is likely that if he ever finds one like it or similar to it he would buy it in a heartbeat.

Personality:  It's incredibly difficult to describe the personality of the Riku Replica without bringing in Riku for comparison, but for the sake of trying something new I'm going to give it a go.
 

 First off, the Riku Replica is incredibly insecure, though this is not something that is easily discerned at first glance. To many that first meet him, the Replica comes off as blunt to the point of being rude, easily irritated or confused, and possessing self-confidence that's almost to the point of arrogance when in a relaxed state. While it's true that he actually does possess these personality traits, they all serve as a mask to hide his own inner insecurity. The majority of this ties into the fact that he is what he is--a Replica, created to look, act, and think like the person he was modeled after. As looking in the mirror only serves to remind him that he is a copy of a pre-existing person, he can never escape it. Because of this, he has a drive to prove to himself and to anyone that says otherwise that he is his own person, and that he's more than just a copy.

This drive to prove his worth shows up in several ways; the Riku Replica is highly competitive, although he is lacking someone vital in order to push him to reach his full potential--a rival for him to measure himself against, who can constantly motivate him to push himself past his limits. For a long time, his self-appointed 'rival' was a mix his memories of the real Riku and his abilities, and his experience in Castle Oblivion. These memories motivated him to try and become his own person, to become strong enough that he wouldn't have to prove his worth to anyone, and to never allow himself to be used as a tool ever again.

This drive shows itself in a different way to the people he cares for. If you are part of the Replica's circle of friends, or are deemed one of his most precious people, he will do everything in his power to make sure that no harm comes to them. This loyalty is not without it's faults, as it can drive him to be overprotective, and even cause him to become jealous if his friends are making new ones, if only for a short time.

He's outgrown most of his extreme jealousy and his anger, in part due to the lessening of the Darkness in his Heart over time. While it was a power that he fully embraced in Castle Oblivion, he has hardly had the need to use it while he travels, instead using only enough to summon a Corridor in most circumstances. Because of the Darkness not being so close to the surface, he is calmer, more prone to smile, and more prone to tease whoever he might actually be close enough to feel comfortable around. 

Because he lacks the guilt that the real Riku carries around with him, he is far more prone to smiling. He's also not afraid of looking like an idiot sometimes, as he is aware that as a Replica he lacks a great deal of life experience, and so doesn't know or understand a great many concepts. It's in this that his real age shows, as he is extremely curious about life in general. This is most apparent in his wanderlust, another thing that he happens to have in common with Riku, although for far different reasons. While Riku's itch to travel was fueled by his desire to escape Destiny Islands and have a grand adventure where he was the hero, the Replica's wanderlust is fueled by his desire to experience things for himself, and to discover who 'he' really is.
 

Strengths/Abilities:  As a Replica, he was able to fight from day one. His abilities include:

• Swordsmanship: The Riku Replica is a proficient swordsman with a fairly balanced fighting style. Like the real Riku and his best friend Sora, the Riku Replica focuses on attacking fast and landing multi-hit combos. Unlike Sora, but very much like Riku, the Replica prefers to wait in a stance suited for high adaptability, until an opening shows itself. That's when he strikes.
• Darkness Manipulation: Not fearing the Darkness in his Heart, the Riku Replica uses it to great effect. He can amplify his own natural abilities, causing him to become faster and stronger than if he didn't use it. This has side effects, but that will be covered in the Weaknesses section.
As time progresses and he unknowingly becomes more grounded in the Light (gaining friends, making bonds, and mellowing out), his Darkness becomes much harder for him to use. While he can still draw it out to use it in a fight, and even go into Dark Mode on rare occasion, he has to do this slowly, or he risks causing damage to himself. Too much Darkness drawn out too fast will cause him pain in the chest, as well as make him far more irritable and prone to anger.

• Dark Attacks: These are special attacks that he can use when he's tapping into his inner Darkness and are (for the most part) only accessible when the Riku Replica is in Dark Mode. Dark Firaga is a projectile attack that resembles a blue ball of flames, and homes in on it's target. Dark Aura is a sword-based attack, where you rush the enemy several times before stabbing the ground. This causes a large column of light to erupt and radiate from the sword and causes the opponent to become confused upon impact. Dark Shield creates a personal transparent barrier that acts as a temporary shield.
• Dark Mode: A facet of his manipulation of Darkness, this is a body-suit that further amplifies his own abilities as well as strengthen his Darkness-based attacks. In Dark Mode, he has access to abilities that he normally doesn't have access to otherwise, while others are strengthened greatly. His speed increases, and his combo hits gain both the ability to stun and deal fire damage.
• Corridors of Darkness: Another aspect of being able to manipulate Darkness at will, this is a form of transportation. The user opens up a portal that leads into an 'in-between' realm of sorts--the Corridor itself. On the other end of the corridor is a matching portal, which leads to the destination the creator of the portal was trying to reach. This travel can be either near-instantaneous or anywhere to a few minutes long, depending on how long someone says within the corridors. Staying for longer periods of time can be dangerous, as Heartless and Nobodies are known to also travel using the Corridors of Darkness.
• Illusion Creation/Generation/Manipulation: Thanks to the power he took from Zexion, the Riku Replica is capable of producing illusions. However, given that this ability wasn't his to begin with and that the power to do so was stolen, it's much harder for him to control. Zexion's power is far more slippery, harder to grasp than his own, so it takes far more concentration to get the power to do what he wants it to do. At this point, he can only generate one illusion at a time; whether it be a camouflage on himself, an area-effect that multiple people can experience, or a targeted mind-fuck, he can only do one at a time. Because of his lack of complete control and proficiency, there isn't even a guarantee that the illusion will even work, or hold for very long.
• Life Energy Siphoning: This is an ability that the Replica does not use very often, if at all after he leaves Castle Oblivion. He first utilized this odd power in the orchestrated murder of Zexion to completely drain all of the Nobody's power and add it to his own. This is something he can potentially do with anyone, but not necessarily everyone will have power that is compatible with his own. Compounding on the compatibility restriction is the fact that the energy he takes does not add itself to his own right away. It takes time for the energy to be converted for the use in the data-to-matter conversion that continually makes him more real over time. Using this particular ability on anyone can therefore be seen as a last-ditch effort
• Light and Darkness Sensing: Because of the power of the Darkness in his Heart, as well as his absorbing and adding of Zexion's abilities to his own, the Riku Replica is capable of sensing people based on the amount of Light and Darkness in their Heart. While this is by no means an exact measure of a person's worth or personality, it's accurate enough that the Replica

Weaknesses: The Riku Replica's biggest strength--his ability to manipulate the Darkness--is also one of his greatest weaknesses. Darkness is very much a double-edged sword, offering strength at differing prices. In the Replica's case, his very Heart begins to become unstable with more prolonged use of his Darkness. Minimal usage, such as the usage of the Corridors of Darkness, have little to no impact on his Heart, and time heals those wounds quickly enough. It's when he starts to fight more actively and use his Darkness to amplify his own abilities that it becomes worse. Going into Dark Mode only speeds up the process, and greatly reduces the amount of time he can use his Darkness before he absolutely has to stop and let himself become stable again. However he has no clue that this is even going on, and given how he has not had to fight much beyond the occasional Heartless, it's likely that he won't find out until he starts fighting extensively again.
The symptoms are, but are not limited to:

• Pain in his chest, where his Heart is. This is the first sign of his created Heart starting to destabilize. It feels much like a heart attack, but on a deeper level.
• Increased aggressive behavior. With more Darkness influencing his emotions, the Replica's old hair-trigger temper will start to resurface.
• Paranoia/Insanity. At some point, the use of Darkness will make the Replica's mind more susceptible to cracking and breaking. As the Darkness draws on one's more negative emotions, his temper will gain a hair-trigger, and he'll be more prone to bouts of extreme jealousy that feed off of insecurities that, by this point, he had nearly buried. It is likely that this particular side effect had some impact on why he very-nearly went insane while in the depths of Castle Oblivion near the end.

Another affect of the Darkness that he is wholly unaware of is how raw exposure to it can worsen the effects of the degradation and cause unneeded stress on his Heart and body.

History: Have some copypasta link that explains the canon events

To summarize the events of the link up above, the Riku Replica was created by Organization XIII's Number IV, Vexen, for purposes unknown. He was used by the leaders in charge of the Castle Oblivion operation to control Sora--the hero of the Kingdom Hearts series, and wielder of a legendary weapon known as a Keyblade (it's exactly as it sounds). Sora progressed through the castle in search of Riku as Naminé, a girl imprisoned by the Organization with the power to manipulate the memories of Sora and those connected to him, slowly took apart Sora's memories and replaced them with false memories involving herself. This was in an effort to bind Sora to the Organization's control, who wished to use him for reasons revealed through the plot. The Riku Replica's memories are also altered to where he believes he is the real Riku, and the same false memories about Naminé are planted in his head to serve as a sort of conflict--who's memories are the real ones?

The Riku Replica fights Sora a total of three times in the game, with the third defeat to the reveal that he is, in fact, a Replica--a clone of Riku. He attacks Sora, but Naminé stops him by erasing the false memories, and thus shattering his Heart (in the Kingdom Hearts continuum, the Heart is a metaphysical thing holding Light and Darkness that acts as a conduit for one's emotions. No Heart, you can't feel). The Riku Replica is later seen protecting Naminè from Marluxia, Organization XIII's Number 11 and the final boss of the game. After seeing Sora's kindness for himself, the Replica disappears off to parts unknown--though in reality, he's gone to the lower basement level floors to fight the real Riku, who showed up at Castle Oblivion at roughly the same time that Sora did. It's from this point that we leave Sora's half of the story and move on to Riku's side of the game, known as Reverse/Rebirth.

At some point, Axel, the Organization's Number VIII convinces  the Replica that in order to defeat the real Riku he has to gain more power. Seeing as this makes sense, he willingly goes along with Axel's plan. The Riku Replica winds up killing the Organization's Number VI, a man named Zexion, by holding him up by the neck and draining Zexion's power from his body. Confident in the fact that he now has enough power to defeat the 'Real Thing', he confronts Riku in a jealous rage.

It's at this point where the deviation from canon starts. After losing the fight, the Replica doesn't start to fade away into Darkness; instead he has a rather epic break down, practically demanding Riku to finish him off, since he's 'just a fake' and shouldn't exist. Riku's next words shock the Replica into numb disbelief. "You may be a copy, but you're still you." Seeing the disbelief on his own Replica's face makes Riku continue. "Look, your Heart may be a created one, but it's still your Heart. You're more than just a copy of me. I'm just a foundation to build on." Still not getting it, Riku waves it off and tells his Replica to get out of Castle Oblivion while he still can, since the longer he sticks around the castle, the more likely it is that he'll be found by those that wish to use the Replica for their own plans. His mind still numb from shock, he says the only thing that he can think of--"Take care of her for me, will you?"--referring to Naminé, and unwittingly echoing Riku's own words to Sora regarding Kairi. After Riku promises he will, and after Riku makes him promise to 'find himself', the confused Replica leaves Castle Oblivion for good.

The Replica spends roughly two months in constant travel, thinking that there is a chance that Organization XIII could be after him. He visits many of the words in his fake memories, wanting to see them for himself, but never staying longer than a week just in case Organization XIII is tracking him. Near the end of this two month period, he visits Destiny Islands to see it with his own eyes instead of in his false memories. He winds up hiding out on the children's island for at least a week, as he finds Destiny Islands as a sort of reprieve from the constant running. When he isn't watching the sunset from the small island with the paopu tree, he's walking around the small island or resting in the small shack. He occasionally hears voices--three, two boys and a girl, when he's inside the small shack on the beach. He quickly learns who the owners of those voices are--Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka, the other three children that live on Destiny Islands. He doesn't try to listen in whenever they end up talking close enough for him to hear it, but he winds up paying attention anyway. In his inadvertent eavesdropping, he heard several things, and two constantly repeating names. Kairi, and Riku. 'Anyone ever wonder where Riku went?' 'He disappeared a year ago, yeah?' 'Kairi's waiting for him, that's why she won't come back here.'

When he put the pieces together, he figuratively saw red. Whoever this Kairi was, she was waiting for Riku to return--and Riku wasn't here. He had half a mind to go find the real him and put a fist in his face, but then he remembered. Hadn't he left someone behind as well? Someone more precious to him than anyone else. Naminé. His anger starting to ebb away, he began to think about why Riku would leave this Kairi person alone, if she was a friend of his. Maybe Riku had asked someone to take care of her, like he had asked Riku to take care of Naminé for him. But whoever Riku had asked wasn't here. That's who he had to beat up, if he ever learned who it was. 

After overhearing this information, the Replica resumes his travels through the many worlds. On each world he visits, he learns something important; not only about himself, but about life and being human. The worlds visited are listed thusly, and in no particular order: 

• Toscana: A world based on the rolling hills of the Tuscan region of Italy, this is the home of the wood-carver Gepetto and his son, the former marionette Pinocchio. The Replica finds himself walking on the cobblestone streets of Gepetto's hometown until he comes across the combination shop and home where Gepetto and Pinocchio live. He enters the store, drawn in by the assorted wooden items within--cuckoo clocks, wooden toys and flutes, decorative wooden statues--and the occasional marionette. Its inside the store where he encounters Pinocchio, who immediately assumes that the Replica is actually Riku and runs to get his father. After the misunderstanding is cleared up, the Replica spends a week in Toscana, all the while learning Pinocchio's story and of the adventures the boy had when he was a puppet. The resulting fate of Pinocchio--that of a puppet whose selflessness and bravery earned him the reward of becoming 'real'--lifted his spirits and gave him hope. Observing how Pinocchio and Gepetto interacted also taught him about family.
• Deep Jungle: The Replica lands on this world purely by chance, but decides to stick for roughly a month. During that time he found he had to retrain himself, as he had become a bit clumsier and kept tripping over himself. During a session of training where most of his original energy is used up, he finally manages to tap into the power he took from Zexion--and inadvertantly finds himself looking like the man. His shock causes the illusion to dispel less than a second later, but he now knows he can use this power on some level for it's original purpose.
• Casey Junior Circus: This world is something of a reprieve from the training and the fighting for the Replica, as it's on this world that the Replica experiences something that a normal person would have--the awe, wonder, and excitement of a child visiting the circus. He stays on this world for five days--a relatively short amount of time compared to the other worlds he visits. He spends that time watching the acts over and over, never once growing tired of the show--of the tricks the high-wire, the acrobats, the animal acts--and that little flying elephant with the large ears, Jumbo Junior.
•  Atlantis: A world based on Atlantis: The Lost Empire, the Replica finds himself here roughly two to three months. Before he leaves, he's given a precious gift--a name of his very own, Ila.
• Atlantica: They newly-named 'Ila' arrives on this world after a quick stop to resupply in Traverse Town. Almost immediately after his arrival, he has to keep himself from panicking after he notices that his legs have been replaced by a black fish tail and that he is miraculously breathing underwater. He spends a rather tiring two weeks on this world, clearing out the stray Heartless he finds roaming around and finding out the hard way that Sora's job as the chosen bearer of the Keyblade was a lot more difficult than he or Riku thought. Once he's absolutely sure that no more will return to this world, he leaves the way he came. 
•  21 B Baker Street: After the initial shock of becoming a white mouse, Ila spends roughly a month here after he first finds and then keeps encountering small bands of Heartless. He usually finds them stealing things, which leads him to believe that there is a mastermind behind them, controlling them like useful minions. It's near the end of this month-long search that he encounters a little mouse-girl named Olivia Flaversham on a particularly rainy day. Along with her was a portly mouse named David Q. Dawson, who was offering to take her to Baker Street, where a great detective named Basil was supposed to reside. Hoping that this detective will be able to help him track down the controller of the Heartless, he offers to accompany them.

As it turns out, Basil at first dismisses Olivia's plea for Basil to help her find her missing father--at least, until he hears about how one of the kidnappers was a bat with a peg leg. Recognizing the description of Fidget, the main henchman of his arch-nemesis Ratigan, he immediately becomes enthusiastic about helping the girl.

The next few nights are hectic ones for the rather strange group. Ila's hunch about Basil being able to help him track down the one controlling the Heartless is proven true, as it turns out that the mouse that had planned the kidnapping of Olivia's father and the controller of the Heartless were one in the same--Basil's arch-nemesis, Professor Ratigan. After chasing clues all over London, and subsequently losing Olivia after an ambush in a toy store, Basil manages to track down Ratigan, only to discover that it was all according to the criminal genius's plan to get Basil out of the way for his grand master scheme--to have Olivia's father build a remote-controlled automaton of the Queen, replace her, and then have the robotic replacement name him as her chief advisor, granting him the ultimate power in London. 

After a hectic few minutes where Ila, Basil, and Dawson have to get out of a Rube Goldberg type of death device concocted by Ratigan to eliminate Basil and ensure his victory, the small group (plus the now rescued Olivia) intercept Ratigan's henchmen at Buckingham Palace and foil his schemes. The chase to bring Ratigan to justice afterward culminates in a battle inside an enormous clock tower, where Ila and Basil's very lives are threatened by giant clockwork, Heartless, and Ratigan himself. After defeating Ratigan on the face of the clock tower, a glowing Keyhole appears for a second, before fading back, leaving all who witness it puzzled. Ila comes away from this world with the new knowledge that not all fights are physical, but mental as well, and with an even greater respect for Sora and his responsibility as the Keybearer.

• Notre Dame: 
• New Orleans/The Bayou: Ila's arrival on this world is met with his own irritation, as once again he finds himself transformed into an animal--this time, of all things, a frog.
  

After almost a year has passed since Ila last saw Castle Oblivion, his memories of his time in the castle itself start to become clearer, as if a fog was slowly being lifted. He could remember the face of the person he fought several times, and competed with for the right to protect Naminé.

He could remember Sora.
 
Not sure what to make of this, he decides to continue traveling, as it's something he's accustomed to by this point.

 
Canon Point: Day 339 of his life, also known as the day Sora wakes up.

First Person Sample: [There's a rather irritated silver-haired teenager giving what equates to the evil eye at the large screen.] You have got to be kidding me.

[His expression becomes more and more disbelieving as the speech continues.] Right. Okay. They expect me to believe this... new blood and progress crap?

[As the video comes to an end, the Replica continues to glare at the now blank video screen.] Yeah, I've definitely got some questions for that guy.

[He turns to leave, only to see the shiny new bicycle, and the gift basket full of fruit on the table. Blinking in surprise, he starts looking through the basket. There's a lot of fruit and other assorted goodies, which he's pretty sure will be gone within the next few days--he's never actually tried most of this before, and he's more than a little curious.

Finding the letter, he opens it and reads it, only to find the exact same speech that the man in the video rattled off. He rolls his eyes again.] Yeah, as if we didn't get it the first time. My memory's just fine, thanks.

[The letter gets folded back up, and after moving aside the packets of hot chocolate, the teabags, the mug and the shirt, he finds something, hidden at the bottom of the basket.] Hm. What's this?

[He pulls it out and looks over it.] What is this thing--some sort of mini computer?

[He frowns, and pushes a button on it--and crap, a light just came on, and a 'now transmitting' message on the small screen.]  I guess this thing's a communicator of some sort, then. ... if anyone's out there, I'm looking for some answers. I'd like to know if someone--anyone, has any idea how this place brought us here. Please contact me. I'm... ...

My name is Ila.

[There's a pause, and then he looks back at the screen.] Oh yeah. Does anyone know how to ride a bike?

Third Person Sample:  The silence was broken by the sounds of a frightened gasp and a bed creaking lightly as Ila suddenly sat up wide awake, his eyes widened in fright from what could only have been a nightmare. His heart was beating rabidly, his breathing short and rapid as if he had been running a marathon, and sweat causing his bangs to cling to his forehead. He shook his head slightly before rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Been a while since I've had that dream," he muttered. He could feel his heart returning to a more steady rhythm as the adrenaline rush began to fade. Wanting to thing about anything but the most recent nightmare, he got out of bed and headed to the small kitchen in his apartment, aiming to get a glass of water.

He hated that dream, and what it possibly meant if it was coming back to him now. It replayed over in his mind, even as he went about getting a glass and filling it with water from the tap; he had been defeated by Sora, Naminé telling him to stop as he charged at the Keybearer--and then nothing, as his Heart was shattered and his false memories torn apart link by link.

Most of that moment barely existed in his mind; he knows that his Heart pieced itself back together somehow, drawing on what few real memories he had to keep him from becoming completely inactive. With the dream so vivid in his mind, drawing on what few memories he had... he could almost feel the cold marble floor of the castle against his cheek from when he was lying on the ground, broken; his body limp as a marionette with it's strings cut.

'I never want to feel like that again,' he thought as he headed back to his bed, the now half-empty glass of water still in his hand. He placed it on the nightstand next to the bed and then sat down, the springs in the mattress creaking slightly as they began to support his weight. 'But why am I dreaming about it now? What's causing it?'

He would think about it in the morning. Right now, he had to go back to sleep.

Have you read the rules? Yep. Going to be continually going over them just to be sure, though.