[closed] I dig 'til my shovel tells a secret

[earthy]

Who: Riku (guidetoblivion), Terra (earthy)
What: An unexpected and unhappy reunion. Thanks, Xehanort.
When: September 13th
Where: The South Coast
Warning(s): Violence, downright excessive use of the word 'darkness'

[Time goes by fast in El Nysa. Or so it seems to Terra. He can hardly believe he's been here for two whole months already. It feels like it was only yesterday when he first woke up with Darma's voice echoing in his head. But no, it really has been two months somehow. In that time, he's watched as many of the other out-of-stasis Refugees have begun to settle into new lives, making friends, getting jobs. He's not sure how they can accept the situation with such ease. All he can think about are his sleeping friends, the old man the Natha also saw fit to save (why, he can't even begin to guess), what happened in the Graveyard moments before the Orbiters intervened to save them all from the Storm. And the Storm itself.

It's still out there somewhere, raging on, tearing apart world after world. That thought in particular sticks in Terra's head. The Natha can't possibly hope to save everyone. How many people are out there right now, holding on to their loved ones as a roaring darkness closes in on them?

Something must be done.

So Terra spends his days training, working on different techniques and spells, pushing himself to and then past his limits. He'll get stronger and find others willing and able to fight, and they'll combine their power to take on the Storm... someday. Hopefully sooner rather than later. If it turns out the worlds that have already fallen can't be saved, the least they can do is prevent more loss.

As focused as he is on his training, Terra doesn't take interest in the planned beach party. At least, at first he doesn't. During one of his visits back to Thesa Station to check on his friends and read them another chapter out of a book he picked up, he realizes he might have a reason to stop by the beach gathering. The Natha gifted him a box of candy (well, he's pretty sure it was a gift from them and not just... someone misplacing a box of candy in his room at the Station) and he could probably give away a lot of it to party goers. Light knows he's not touching most of that sugary stuff and holding the little bags up to Aqua and Ven's pods hasn't worked to coax them out of their sleep so far. Why let so much candy go to waste when other people could enjoy it?

It might not be such a bad thing to check out more of this world, too. Maybe the other members of Lavellan's group are right and there are useful things to be found in El Nysa. Not information, of that much he's still confident, but maybe weapons or new sources of power and the like.

When the day of the party comes around, Terra follows the train out to the beach on his Glider and then 'sets up shop' near the food vendors. It takes a little longer than he expects it to, but he's eventually able to give away all the candy and dispose of the box. With a parting glance at the get-together (it really isn't so bad here in El Nysa), he heads off. He puts a bit of distance between himself and the crowd, then summons his Keyblade and transforms it back into his Glider.

He decides on a whim to trace the shoreline south, see what there is to see down there.

The answer ends up being... not a whole lot. Not until, after a while of flying along at a good clip, he spots a shadowed area up ahead of him. He slows his Glider as he passes out of the bright sunlight and into the strange, gloomy shade. The entire coastline looks different, darker and sharper, quiet and empty. Did something happen here?

Terra lowers his Glider to the ground and dismisses it. His armor he leaves on for the time being.

He makes his way down to the water lapping at the rocks, the wind fluttering through his cape. He looks around as he goes, taking in this bleak corner of the world. It's like some sort of darkness grips this part of the land. And sure enough, when he pushes all his thoughts aside, breathes out and opens his heart to his surroundings, he thinks he does sense darkness... Not all around him, as he expected, but... somewhere nearby?

It almost feels... familiar, too. Like a darkness he's known before. That can't be... Can it? No, he must just be imagining things. Not enough sleep or something...

Right...?

Staring out over the ocean, into the sky, he assumes his 'wait a minute I'm thinking here' pose, one hand propped up on the segment of armor that covers his hip and the other finding its way to the jaw guard protecting his chin.

What could that darkness be?]

Comments

[guidetoblivion]

[Life in El Nysa is very different to everything that Riku has experienced so far in his travels through the worlds – a rhythm to itself that is hard to compare to any song he knows. The concept of house mates isn't new to him (though Maleficent and her group of cronies would likely be offended by the comparision), but it's different than life in Hollow Bastion or the mansion in Twilight Town had been.

The jury's still out on whether that's good or bad.

He's tagged along towards the party mostly out of curiousity and the need to do something since clearly he won't be able to apply himself to the problem of the Storm or the destruction of the Realm of Light in the near future – in hindsight he thinks it might have been a mistake.

His heart is too heavy with the memories of the Islands that he hasn't seen in almost a year and a half to truly get any enjoyment out of this party.

When he picks up on the scent of Darkness, Riku is almost glad – even though the scent itself is almost like a gut punch in its familiarity. It's not quite as sharp and deep as the scent of the shadow wrapped around his Heart, ever threatening to consume him one day... but the similarities? They are too concerning to be left alone.

He hardly pays attention to the way the scenery changes, the fact that even the sounds of the sea grow more quiet as he slowly makes his way further south, his thoughts too occupied by the scent he is sensing.

(It's shouldn't, can't be Xemnas – the smell lacks the note of nothingness that Riku has come to associate with Nobodies – and he knows that the Superior of the Organization is still fast asleep up in the Stasis Unit. But if it's neither Xemnas, nor Ansem… who's Darkness is he tracking?)

As he closes in on the source, his hand twitches up to his hood, drawing it up to conceal his face and part of his presence… if this being is really connected to Ansem then even these measures won't do much to keep his identity hidden for long, but for now it's best to make a grab for each and every advantage that he can get his hands on.

Then he rounds the last of rocks, stepping in the line of sight of… a knight? …What?]

…Who are you?

[Whatever Riku had expected to run into here, a knight(?) in polished armor striking a thinking pose certainly hadn't been it.]

[earthy]

[Sinking deep into his thoughts, trying to focus on only the mystery of this present darkness and not on the memories it inevitably stirs, Terra doesn't hear the soft footsteps (and the faint jingling of silver drawstrings) headed his way. He starts a little when a voice suddenly interrupts the silence around him, his muscles tensing under his armor, his head snapping up. His arms fall to his sides and he turns slowly, cautiously toward the voice.

A local? Someone who lives in this dismal place? The idea flits into his mind as he turns only to be immediately discarded when his eyes fasten on a cloaked figure.

He's seen that black coat before. And not on one of the Nysans.

There's the darkness he sensed, too. A well of shadows, as enticing and sickening as any darkness ever was.

Beneath the tinted glass of his visor, Terra's eyes narrow. The fingers of his right hand start to curl at his side, but he catches himself before the impulse reaches his heart and the Keyblade's summoned. Instead, he takes a breath and forces his hand and heart to relax.

One thing at a time. The coat. That was the outfit the guy with the instrument and the water magic wore. Demyx, his name was. A harmless flunky of some group Terra suspects has ties to Xehanort. So, this is... one of Demyx's thirteen (or was it seven?) teammates, then?

Or even the Superior Demyx mentioned? What was his name again?

Terra realizes he's just been staring at the stranger for several moments and finds a quick answer for his question.]

I could ask you the same thing.

[Xemnas. That was the name. Terra shifts his weight slightly, anticipation or something like it creeping up on him. Is that you...? Are you their leader? Do you know Xehanort?]

Are you the one they call the Superior? Xemnas?

[guidetoblivion]

[The world seems to have narrowed down to the two of them, to each and every creak of metal against metal as the other's armor shifts, to the rub of leather on leather of his own gloves as Riku rubs his fingers together. For a moment he suspects that the other may call a weapon, mentally reaches for the Soul Eater, the familiar bite of darkness in his Heart and Hand.

But then the moment goes by, and he relaxes as well. If there is battle to be, it isn't now. One thing at a time indeed.

First of all he's got to figure out the knight's connection to Ansem.

The question startles him a little – of all the people he might have been mistaken as, Xemnas hadn't quite made his list. His head tilts, then shakes in answer.]

Hardly. I'm not even a Nobody… even though, just like them I may be one that shouldn't exist.

[The greatest Nobody of them all indeed, he thinks, hands clenching a little.

But as things are, he isn't about to give out his name. Not unless the other gives him his and maybe not even then.]

If you need anything to call me by, 'The Imposter' will do.

[That's what the Organization had called him for a long while after all. There may even have been a bounty on his name… not that it matters now. He nods at the armored figure.]

Now you… I can sense the Darkness inside you. Why does it smell so much like the one they call Ansem, Seeker of Darkness?

[What is your connection, he doesn't ask.]

[earthy]

[The stranger isn't Xemnas.

That much Terra gets.

That much is... all Terra gets.

A shame he's still wearing his helmet and Not-Xemnas misses the look of pure bewilderment that settles on his face.

Nobody? Who... or what... is a Nobody? What does he mean by 'shouldn't exist'? Why shouldn't he exist? Who else shouldn't exist? Is he talking about that group? Is he not one of their members, or...?

And he wants to be called... what? 'The Imposter'? He's pretending to be someone else? Who? Why?

... Is this guy just talking nonsense to try and confuse him?!

Terra's resolve to keep his heart still, that he might think this situation through carefully, starts to crumble. He flinches back when the subject abruptly changes to darkness, to his own darkness, his right hand raising to his chest. The motion is both questioning and defensive.

You can sense my darkness, too...? And it's... like someone else's?

What is all this?

Why does he get the terrible feeling this Imposter isn't simply making things up...?]

I don't know any... 'Ansem'... 'Seeker of Darkness'... [His voice is rough in his throat when he replies, the hand hovering over his breast plate balling into a fist and then slashing down and out. With a shake of his head, he steps into a wider, readier stance.]

My darkness is my own... [For better or for worse. There's no denying the darkness in his heart, not after everything that's happened, but it is his own. It shouldn't be, can't be, 'so much like' someone else's. Especially not someone else named Seeker of Darkness...]

But what about yours... Imposter...? I think I've felt those shadows of yours somewhere before, too...

[guidetoblivion]

[Honestly, Riku doesn't mean to be nearly as cryptic as he probably sounds to someone that doesn't know the terms he's throwing around... he is working off the assumption that the other knows at least the basic facts about the Organization, given how casually he's mentioning the Superior's name.

…Of course, he's also spent the last year hanging around DiZ, so that may have rubbed off on him some too.]

I am me. ["And no one else," he wishes he could say… but he knows better by now. One day, he'll need that power… be it against Roxas, be it against the Storm… and once he does reach too deep, Ansem's shadows will swallow him and 'Riku' may cease to exist… physically anyway.] …And someday, I will be someone else. I've accepted that.

But that doesn't matter now.

[He hopes at least. If this guy's strength is like Ansem's, then at least he should be able to deal with him with just his own power, if the need arises.]

You say your Darkness is your own… and you are neither Ansem nor Xemnas; your smell tells me that much. But even if you aren't either of them, your Darkness is too similar to be mere coincidence… and I know exactly what kind of havoc both of them have caused the Worlds in their search for Kingdom Hearts.

[Once driven to near destruction, and now again… if not for the Storm, surely they would have headed that way again thanks to the Organization's scheme.]

Are you the same?

[Because if he is, Riku will put a stop to that… right here and now.]

[earthy]

[Terra could desperately use Jiminy's Journal and a few hours to study right now.

Also: thanks, DiZ.

He's him and someday he'll be someone else but he's accepted that and it doesn't matter...?

This guy's just bizarre. When is he going to start making sense?

Then the Imposter goes on to say that this Xemnas and Ansem have been causing trouble for the worlds. It shouldn't be a surprise, considering his suspicions about Xemnas being an associate of Xehanort's, but somehow it is... He's never heard about any of this. This group, this Xemnas, and now this Seeker of Darkness... disrupting peace and order to... try and find Kingdom Hearts...?

How could he never have heard about any of this?

Before he can really ponder the new information and its implications, the Imposter directs another question his way... And leaves him gaping at him through his visor.

Is he the same...? Is he someone who brings chaos and ruin to the worlds?!

Terra feels the shift inside his heart as rising anxiousness and scattered bursts of irritation congeal into a dark, gripping anger.

Are the Imposter's words an accusation? A threat? Or... Or did this Imposter follow him here for another reason? Did he sense, or smell, his darkness and think him an ally? Is he disappointed he hasn't found the Superior or the Seeker?

It's an almost painful thing, the rage. A cold, sharp ache that tightens his chest and sets his physical heart to drumming under his ribs. But with that discomfort comes power, the darkness gathering, roiling, rushing through his limbs, lending him such strength and energy.

His outstretched hand trembles a little as it opens wide and light explodes out of his palm into a long, bright white beam. Segmented gears of light, gold and teal and white in color, spin around his wrist and hand and the opposite end of the sparking, flashing beam.

He holds the summon for just a second, then the light flickers out and his hand closes around Ends of the Earth's hilt. He wastes no time swinging the Keyblade down to his side and assuming his full battle stance.

He prepares himself to fight, but who is he fighting? The Imposter's darkness... It really is so familiar... and so potent... Terra encountered several dark hearts during his travels to different worlds, but none of them were quite like this one. None of them... save Xehanort's, when Terra stood across from him in the Graveyard. The Imposter can't be Xehanort, though. That isn't his voice and that isn't his old, bent body wearing that coat.

No, it's not Xehanort... but what he's feeling is Xehanort's influence. It has to be.

The Imposter must work for him. Maybe as a member of that group or maybe on his own. He must have worked for him for a long time, too, long enough that his own shadows started to reflect Xehanort's... or something like that.

The details really aren't that important.

The Imposter's an enemy.]

I'm afraid you're confused! [He snarls out between labored breaths as his darkness begins to snake around the edges of his armor, forming a shadowy aura complete with wispy black tendrils.] I'm not anything like that... I'm not anything like you!

[Well, somebody is going to feel super dumb and super guilty when he looks back on this moment someday...]

[guidetoblivion]

[Too bad that that particular Jiminy's Journal doesn't even exist in Riku's time yet.

Well, as long as he makes sense to himself, does he really need to make sense to someone else anyway?

Riku silently waits for a reaction to his probe, to the knight's answer to his confrontational query… Is he the same as Ansem or Xemnas, is he out to seek Kingdom Hearts? He isn't quite sure what to expect; Maleficent (and by extension Ansem) had never really made a secret of her goal, and Xemnas too seems to have been quite vocal about what he wants the Organization to archive (though whether what Demyx had told him about that is really the truth… Riku isn't so sure)…

Will the knight be as forward about it? Or… will he continue to deny any connection at all?

He tenses up when he senses the foul stench of the other's Darkness rising, feels his gut twisting at the almost familiar scent in the air, not quite dark enough to be the Heartless, but similar enough to give Riku a pause.

Then, the knight summons his weapon and Riku's world tilts sideways because–]

A Keyblade!? How? Why do you have a Keyblade?

[Someone so clearly steeped in Darkness, someone definitely connected to Ansem… how did he not prove himself as unworthy as Riku had when he had called the Darkness onto the Islands? And that Keyblade itself… it's nothing like the Kingdom Key or even the Keyblade of People's Hearts (and yet, there is something familiar about it… something that Riku recognizes… or would recognize anyway, if he had a minute or five to think about it).

He shakes off his confusion a moment later when the other snarls at him, feet shifting to find better footing in the sand, a lot calmer as he replies.]

Of course not. There is nobody quite like me.

[Riku knows that for a fact – Mickey had told him after all, he's never seen the road Riku's chosen, and even though his light may be fading, he still wants to walk that Road to Dawn.

From the Darkness into the Light, that's how it will be for him if he ever manages to shake Ansem's shadows, but right now that Darkness may eventually be the edge he needs… but for now all that he needs are his own powers, his own strength. The air crackles as Darkness gathers by his hand then weaves together into the Soul Eater, his sword's familiar song a soothing constant in his Heart.

He grips it tightly before he slips into his own battle stance, sword hand over head and his other stretched out. He'll fight to get to the truth of this matter.]

[earthy]

[A Journal magically turns up at the Station someday and it's just a bunch of empty pages and maybe one short, mysterious message. Not terribly helpful.

So, the Imposter's familiar with the Keyblade, huh? Through his rage, Terra feels a twinge of satisfaction. Someone with a Keyblade must have noticed what Xehanort's friends have been up to and, if the Imposter's reaction is anything to go by, that someone must have made themselves a real thorn in the group's side. Good.

... Not that it matters much now, with the Storm destroying all their worlds... But at least if more of these black coat guys wake up here, they'll already be acquainted with the Keyblade. They'll know what kind of power they're up against. Maybe it'll be motivation for them to reconsider carrying on with their plans.

His opponent summons a dark blade that bears the strange blue eye Xehanort's Keyblade had. Terra takes one look at it and knows he's in for a tough fight. He arches his back a little, concentrating his darkness into a Style.]

I was chosen for the Keyblade! This power... [All of it...] I use to protect the things that matter!

[With that, Terra kicks off the ground, crossing the distance between them with a single, smooth air slide. Dark Impulse keeps him airborne as he launches a vicious, frenzied attack, alternating between forceful swings of the Keyblade and clawing with his free hand.]

[guidetoblivion]

[Not very, indeed. They ought to thank Naminé anyway, should she ever wake.

Oh Terra… one day he and Riku may sit down and talk about the Organization… and about how sadly backwards all those assumptions about what's been happening in the Worlds really are, considering that the Organization thinks the Keyblade part of their power, that they've been using its wielder to gather the Hearts they need to create Kingdom Hearts.

Riku might have had a smart reply on his lips, except that there's something about those words, something so utterly familiar that it strikes a chord within him, but before he has time to think about why exactly that is, the knight is already coming at him and there is no more time to think at all.

He flips left his hand up to summon a Dark Shield and divert at least some of the damage that's coming his way – frenzied as the attack is, he can already tell: the other has skill with the Keyblade, more than she had had when they first had fought. Is it enough to best Riku? They'll see by the end of this fight, he thinks and channels his own Darkness into speed rather than strength, disappearing from the spot where he's been standing only to reappear right above the knight for the four-down-strike attack that's Dark Break.]

Gotcha!

[Dodging or blocking right in mid-air? Even for a skilled fighter that's not easy, Riku knows.]

[earthy]

[Terra will certainly have good cause to thank her... someday.

The full extent of his knowledge of the Organization right now is: people with coats and Xehanort's boots being shady, darkness and Kingdom Hearts, also something with the letter 'x'. Ignorance is bliss.

A glassy, honeycomb-pattern shield springs up between them, similar to the blocks and barriers the Master taught him and his friends to use.

Terra takes note but doesn't change tactics, pummeling away until the shield's flickered out of existence. Thinking he's got an opening, Terra draws back, winds up energy, and then punches his empty hand forward. Another hand, massive and made up of darkness, materializes before him, reaching out to grab... empty space?

Where'd the Imposter go?

The answer comes a split-second later in the form of the Imposter's blade connecting with his helmet. Terra grits his teeth and endures two, three dizzying strikes, but when the third blow lands, a thin ring of light pops around him. Battle reflexes, muscle memory, and a hint of magic combine, tensing his body and triggering a reprisal: Terra twists to swing the Keyblade up and out, effectively trying to swat his opponent out of the air with Payback Fang.]

[guidetoblivion]

[Riku is certain that his attack is going through, utterly confident that his speedy attack will stagger the knight and provide him an additional opening to end this fight quickly–

He doesn't quite expect the reprisal when it comes, caught off-guard by the sudden hit; he grunts heavily from the pain as he's sent flying, but then flips himself mid-air and sliding back on the ground. As he moves, he changes his grip on the Soul Eater while pulling back his left hand, blue-black flames gathering at his palm before he launches them, a Dark Fire homing right in on the knight.

It just hopefully keep him busy enough to bridge the delay that Riku needs to concentrate in order to activate his Limit – not quite his last resort, but he admits that it's worrying that he needs it this early already. The hit he just caught proved one thing though… the knight is undoubtedly the superior one of them in a match of pure strength, so any chance of winning he has will rely on speed.

A second later he's already on the move, rushing at the knight from ever changing directions, taunting:]

Hope you're fast!

[earthy]

[Terra drops lightly back to the ground, the black mist of Dark Impulse still wrapped around him. Rather than dive at the Imposter again to resume swinging and clawing with wild abandon, he starts toward him at a stalking pace.

The Imposter's next trick is to hurl a smoking orb of darkness his way. Terra recognizes the spell and lets the dark flame come and break across his armor like water across a rock. His suit, imbued with magic to help it resist the darkness, does its job and protects him, but there's still evidence of damage to the metal and leather when the explosion of darkness dissipates.

Terra watches as the Imposter finishes charging another attack and... rushes straight for him, blade held out to run him through.

The first strike is too quick to dodge, too quick even for Terra to get his Keyblade up to block it. (Where's a 0 card when you need one?) Then the Imposter's vanishing, reappearing behind him, rushing again. Terra braces himself where he stands but still ends up giving ground the first few times the strange blade rakes across his armor, his shoes digging furrows in the sand.

There's a faint impression of pain through the haze of adrenaline and darkness, when one attack cuts into leather instead of scraping noisily off metal.

Terra thinks he knows that attack, too. Chaos Blade? Only... much faster.

Another lash of the blade refocuses his attention. Where is his enemy coming from next, where is -- there, off to his left.

The Imposter flies at him again, shouting some taunt, but Terra's already throwing his body into a clumsy forward lunge, sliding out of the way, a narrow miss that leaves the Imposter cutting through the end of his cape.

Having only bought himself a second to work with, he immediately thrusts Ends of the Earth up and out. The ground rumbles, a single tremor of warning before three spiked rock formations come rushing out of the sand around him. Terra holds the Quake spell up, keeping the magic in place for a few moments longer, though it costs him more energy to do so. There's room enough for the Imposter to continue his onslaught but not blindly. If he isn't careful, he'll be rushing headlong into seemingly-solid rock.]

[guidetoblivion]

[The Quake spell staggers Riku for a moment, forcing him back and out of his Limit, leaving him to stare at the knight for a moment; just who is this guy? Earth magic is rare after all, and this definitely can't be the only other one that Riku ever encountered using it… he isn't a Nobody after all.

There is little time to think about it, when the other comes at him again – with deep, foul Darkness and power that even put Lexaeus' hits to shame, forcing him to put up one Dark Shield after another to keep the damage low, pressing him into the defensive for a while. The Shields allow him to catch his breath though, to gather focus for another attempt at using his Limit – he can't win without speed, and even if he becomes so fast that he's blind to counters as before.

It will be worth the risk, he figures.

(It has to be, because if he doesn't gets a couple of hits in soon, he's definitely going to lose this fight. That much is growing more and more obvious with every minute that passes.)

In the end it's not enough.

In the end, for all that Riku has speed on his side, he doesn't have the defenses to keep up with the knight's heavy hits, is (nearly) out of tricks to throw at him, and rather than to fumble with a Cure spell that might even fail him in his current state, he chooses to try one last defiant upwards strike at the knight's helmet, before the other's Keyblade fells away the last of his health.

He falls to his knees then, black spots dancing through his vision and his grip on the Soul Eater failing, the dark sword disappearing back into the space by his Heart as his body falls forward and collides with the ground.]

[earthy]

[The battle rages on, dissolving into a blur of flashing blades and flaring magic, turning the desolate stretch of beach into a temporary war zone.

The Imposter clearly favors a fast fighting style. Terra can't hope to match him in a contest of speed and he knows it. Fortunately for him, though, he has plenty of experience facing off against faster opponents. He shifts his strategy smoothly to counter all that furious speed.

Dark Impulse's aura eventually fades away, but he keeps his darkness near the surface of his heart and brings it to bear every chance he gets, punishing the Imposter for any hesitation, any bobble, forcing him back behind his shields again and again.

As they trade blows, it dawns on him that both the Imposter's leaping attack and the rushing one are just like different parts of one of his shotlocks, Sonic Shadow, too. That's an even closer comparison than Chaos Blade, now that he thinks about it. But it's still not quite right. For one thing, the attacks seem to be separate for him, rather than a single long combination. Still... Still, the Imposter is definitely fighting like a Keybearer. Like a Keybearer without a Keyblade. The realization stuns him and he has to throw Ends of the Earth up in a hasty block to keep the Imposter from taking advantage of his pause.

How is that possible? Terra slides away, points his Keyblade up, and calls down small meteors. Is he someone's apprentice who simply hasn't succeeded in summoning the Keyblade yet...? No. No, he can't be. He wouldn't be this fast, this skilled.

Maybe this, too, is Xehanort's handiwork, then. Maybe Xehanort didn't see fit to bequeath the Keyblade to this Imposter, for whatever reason, but still saw value in him, enough to train him in the wielding of a blade and in the use of darkness?

He'll have to question the Imposter on that after they've settled this.

The Imposter really is skilled, too, Terra decides a few long minutes later. Skilled but... unpolished. There are holes in his training, subtle flaws in some of his techniques. Xehanort could have been more thorough with him. If Xehanort was the one doing the teaching.

Slowly but surely, with darkness and earth, with other magic and with the Keyblade, Terra wears the Imposter down. He watches with grim satisfaction as the guy begins to slow and falter. Terra closes in to finish him off...

And makes a downright undignified strangled noise when the Imposter's blade suddenly cuts into view. He throws himself back, trying to avoid the strike, but he's not quick enough and the blade shears against his jaw guard and catches on his visor, shattering it.

Terra screws his eyes shut as he goes stumbling back into the wet sand. Knowing the Imposter might be on him in an instant, he shakes his head hard, trying to clear as much broken glass out of his face as he can. With a snarl, he jerks his head back up, looking about to find where the Imposter's gone.

But he's right where he was when he dished out that nasty swing.

Only now sort of plastered across the ground.

He's down. It's over.

Terra watches him for a moment then stoops over where he stands, taking the time to catch his breath. He feels his free hand tremble a little as he reaches up to grab the back of his helmet and pull it off over his head. Half the visor's gone and the glass that remains is covered in spider web fracture lines. One of the helmet's 'horns' broke off at some point, too, Terra notes. He looks down at the rest of his armor and finds it's in a similar state, charred and torn and crumbling. With a thought, he dismisses the whole suit, letting metal, leather, and glass flicker away in motes and streamers of light. The Keyblade he holds on to.

He moves back toward his fallen enemy, wincing a bit as he goes. Ah. Going to be sore tomorrow.

Not that that matters. He won. He beat Xehanort's lackey.]

What's wrong, Imposter? Giving up already?

[The words just kind of come to him and he goes with them without thinking as he crouches down next to the Imposter's prone body. After a second, he reaches for the black hood covering his head. Let's see what you look like, huh?]

[guidetoblivion]

[Riku blacks out for a moment – it's been a long time since he last fought himself to this point of exhaustion, since he's crumbled rather than stood after a fight. The last time was against Lexaeus, and even that fight he won. Sort of-ish.

There is no doubt that he's lost this one though, that he's been defeated here and now.

He drifts back into the waking world just seconds later though when muted words reach his ears through the haze that defeat left his senses in, frowning faintly when he comprehends them, and thinks That is my line, usually. …Which is a stupid thought to have really, considering that he's at the knight's mercy now, unless he's allowed a chance to catch his breath and undo the blindfold to release Ansem's powers.

(Though if he does that now, while he's so weak himself… maybe there really won't be anything left of himself and whether that's a risk he really wants to take… well the next few minutes will decide.)

He grunts faintly when the hood is pulled back, silver strands of hair falling out and brushing over his blindfold as he struggles to push up his upper body and turn his head so he can at least look his adversary in the face and show him that even though he might be beaten, he's not afraid.

…Except that the face he finds himself seeing is so familiar, an image of his most intimate enemy so he can't help but flinch back a little and hiss:]

Ansem.

[There should be little left to doubt about just what he thinks of him, just going by the tone of that single word – there is no love lost between Riku and Ansem after all.

Then the image fades and Riku sees the knight for who he really is… which is someone who looks familiar, someone incredibly similar to Ansem – almost a twin brother, if not for the colors… the skin is lighter, the hair brown rather than steel grey… and though something in Riku nags faintly at him that he should know this person, he's at a complete and utter loss.

There is a moment of pause before he actually finds the words to articulate that conclusion, and more importantly the strength to say them without faltering.]

No… you aren't him, but... you look almost like him.

[That can't be denied… so there's only one thing for him left to ask:]

Who are you, really?

[earthy]

[The hood falls back to reveal... a teenager? With a mop of silver hair and a... blindfold tied over his eyes...

Terra sits back, resting his free hand on his knee, the Keyblade held off to one side, ready to be swept in if the Imposter tries anything. (Though at this close range, it won't be good for much more than knocking him over the head.)

At first, he just looks puzzled. What's with the blindfold? ... And hasn't he seen that hair somewhere before?

The hissed name gets him to flinch, too, but the Imposter promptly corrects himself, recognizing that he isn't this 'Ansem'... but saying he does look like him?

That someone out there (or in a pod now) who has darkness like his also looks like him...?

Maybe just more of the Imposter's nonsense. How can he even see anything, with the blindfold on? Or why is he wearing a blindfold if he can see through it just fine?

Frowning down at him, ignoring his question, Terra lifts his hand again and this time tentatively reaches toward the Imposter's face and that black strip of fabric...]

[guidetoblivion]

[Well, Riku hasn't spotted him in any pot yet – and given that at least some fragments of Ansem are still tied to his Heart, he sure hopes he never will. Dealing with his Keyblade swinging, pallet-swapped twin brother(?) is already bad enough – especially when he doesn't seem in the mood to answer any of the questions Riku is throwing his way.

When the knight reaches for his eyes, for the blindfold covering them, Riku leans on his side to lashes out with one arm and swat away that hand with what strength he has left, eyes narrowed into a glare even behind the cloth.]

You don't want to do that.

[And more importantly, Riku doesn't want him to do that – not yet. He hadn't lied before – he has accepted that he won't remain himself for all too much longer – but that doesn't mean he's quite ready to give his all over to the Darkness if there's no purpose to it.]

[earthy]

[Terra's upper lip curls slightly when his hand is batted away, but he doesn't grab for the blindfold again.]

You want to tell me why not?

[guidetoblivion]

[Riku keeps on glaring, and once he's certain that the knight won't make another try for it, he struggles to sit himself up, a flat reply passing his lips.]

That's my secret to keep, and I see no reason to share it with someone that won't even give me a moniker to call him by.

[Like wow, so far Riku has answered his questions – even if not always straight – but he hasn't gotten anything in return; it's not gone unnoticed.]

[earthy]

[Now it's the corner of Terra's mouth twitching up, his frown giving way to a small smirk.]

A moniker... [He snorts softly. It's almost... sad. The Imposter looks like he's still something of a kid and Xehanort has him acting like this. Secrets and aliases and darkness. Miserable old man.] Well, I don't have a moniker like yours to give. And my name's of no importance...

[His expression slackens at that, though, all traces of anger and frustration fading away until there's only a couple months' worth of tiredness left on his face. His eyes drift off the Imposter, skimming the beach near them absently.]

I've seen you somewhere before. Before this world, I mean. Before the Storm.

[guidetoblivion]

[Secrets, aliases and Darkness, that's what Riku's life has come to in the last year – what it takes, what he can do to keep his best friend safe. He wouldn't change a thing, not about that.

His glare softens into a frown of his own as he studies the knight… cautious as he replies:]

I could say the same about you… not just because you look like him. That Keyblade… [He nods at the weapon near the knight.] I know I've seen a similar design before.

[The question is where… certainly not with Sora or Roxas, or her… and certainly not in Hollow Bastion. That leaves… that time… but there's no way… or is there?]

[earthy]

[Terra's not about to admit it out loud, but he's a little relieved when the Imposter says he's seen a Keyblade like his before.

Maybe some doppelgänger has a face and a darkness like his but no way anyone else wields his Keyblade.

He's not just imagining this. They've crossed paths at some point.]

I don't know where from, though.

[He racks his heart and mind, searching through his memories of all the different worlds he visited. Where could it have been? Maybe he saw him briefly in some crowd...?

The answer finally comes to him, but not in the way he expects it to. Glancing back at the Imposter, he's surprised to find the teenager has changed out of the black coat and into a sleeveless, zip-up shirt and vest, as well as blue pants. His blindfold's gone, though his bangs are still doing an admirable job covering his eyes.

Then one dizzying moment later, the Imposter's transformed from a tall teenager into a young boy with a bright and promising heart...

Some of the color drains out of Terra's face.]

You...

[That small world. The one with the star-shaped fruits. The boy. This is... This is that boy?]

You're the one I chose...

[Terra lurches back up to his feet and backs away, one step, two, three.]

How...? How can it be you...?

[He was just a little kid... only months ago!

And all that darkness. The 'name' he gave, the blade that isn't a Key, the connection to Xehanort, all that darkness...

Terra shakes his head again, dragging Ends of the Earth up to point it at the boy who's back to being a teenager dressed in a black coat and blindfold. He regards him not with anger but with anguish this time.]

What did you do...?! What happened to your heart?!

[guidetoblivion]

[They've crossed paths before, Riku knows this too and if they did like he's beginning to suspect that they did, then that means…

…Okay, he isn't sure what that means, not yet.

He watches silently, with a faint frown as the knight pales and then jumps to his feet – somehow having come to the same conclusion as he has about the other's identity… somehow this is the same person that came to the Islands so long ago, the one who started it all.]

You are the one that came to the Islands…

[He doesn't need to question much of the how – he's known that the other is out there somewhere, though admittedly he wouldn't have expected to run into him here… hadn't even given the other much thought since leaving the Islands. There was always something else… first his jealousy of Sora, then Kairi's missing Heart, now the fall-out of Castle Oblivion…

And maybe he's been glad too that he's never run into the person that enabled him to leave in the first place… he remembers promises made back then, the words he's spoke himself.

He hasn't done well in protecting 'the things that matter'.

He's unworthy of the power given then, may always be… the Soul Eater is all that remains with him here, and though he is regarded only with anguish – he'd certainly deserve anger too. What has happened to his heart is a long story, Darkness haunting him deep and patient, and fact remains that one day – even though certainly not today – it will swallow him (and once that happens there will be no way back, not to himself, not down the Road to Dawn, and definitely not back to the Islands).

He pushes to his feet, slowly, lets silence reign for just a moment longer before he gives the one answer he knows to be true.]

I proved myself unworthy.

[He could ask in return – Where were you? Have you always been here, since that day? – but there's no point in pretending that the knight's presence would have changed anything at all… there is really no telling if he wouldn't have fallen anyway, is there?

He turns away, one hand lifting to wave open a Corridor of Darkness. He has no idea how the knight and Ansem are connected… if they are connected at all – was it maybe all a ploy from the start? No… no, he doesn't think so at all – but regardless, he can't stay here any longer.]

[earthy]

[Terra can only stand there as a portal of darkness flares up at the Imposter's bidding. For an unnerving second or two, he's waiting for some monster (for Xehanort) to come out, but then he realizes the Imposter (his successor) only means to take his leave.

To flee.

Terra lowers his Keyblade slowly until it's back at his side.

He has so many questions.

What does he mean he proved himself unworthy? What really happened, to him and his heart? And how did whatever happened happen? Terra had thought all the worlds in his universe were destroyed by the Storm at the same time. For the boy to be older... and this much older (ten years older? or even more?), his small world must have survived. Others too. Everything he was talking about, Ansem and Xemnas and Kingdom Hearts, must have come about later. (No wonder he's never heard about any of that...)

So, was it only the Graveyard that was lost? Has he been sleeping alongside his friends for years, while life across most of their worlds carried on?

... But Xehanort was in the Graveyard with him. He should have been taken by the Natha at the same time Terra was. Terra knows for a fact the old man is up there now. How could he have influenced the boy this much if he were asleep?

Maybe Xehanort wasn't meddling in his life directly but through those associates, who all must have been in other worlds at the time the Storm swallowed up the Graveyard? Someone else must have trained him... Or tried to train him, or...

It's too much. He needs time to think, to decide what to say and do, what to feel, but the Imposter's already walking away and he can't bring himself to call after him, Stop. Come back.

Terra watches in silence as the boy disappears into that inky darkness, to be whisked away to who-knows-where.

Alone again, he turns back to the water.

The Keyblade almost feels heavy in his hand now. He takes a moment to drive it into the sand next to him before he sits.

Well... He supposes his exploring efforts did turn up something.]