Profile/App

[gotowardslight]

Player Name: Mega
Player LJ: dorked
Email and/or AIM: Mega_zee_Hedgie@hotmail.com/gotowardslight
Timezone: PST
Other Characters: N/A

Character: Riku
Series/Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Deviance: 2+ [Riku assumed his rightful role as Keybearer from the very start, Sora still had Kairi’s heart inside him when the islands fell and was tricked into believing Maleficent and the other villains were heroes. This leads to many complications, and everything after the KH1-timeline is its own plot, rather than following the plot of the game’s sequels. Also includes the addition of a new world based off of Pinocchio, as Monstro occurs much later in this AU. More details under history, and no one else is in this deviance yet.]

Age: 15
Gender: Male
Species: Human

Canon Used: The first Kingdom Hearts primarily, with elements of Chain of Memories, Final Mixes, the manga, 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts 2 as well as the Disney Animated Movie canon for many of the worlds.

Appearance: Riku is a somewhat tall, slightly muscular teenage boy whose most notable features include his shoulder-length silver hair and turquoise eyes. Riku dresses in a black and yellow sleeveless top and blue waders, and he wears a belt around his waist with straps that hook up to his waders. Also attached to his belt is Kairi’s Lucky Charm, which he carries at all times.

Psychology: On the surface, Riku is very much a cool, collected teen. He’s laid back, kind of sarcastic, and a touch arrogant as well. Those he holds dear to him he’ll often tease or joke around with, not always in the nicest of ways, although his intentions are typically far from cruel. One might assume he has a bit of an ego, for often times he acts full of himself and extremely confident, even in dire situations. His arrogant streak isn’t quite as intense as it used to be, but it’s still there.
However, to assume Riku is completely self absorbed would be a grave mistake.

A lot of the way Riku acts is in part a ruse. Deep down, he’s very selfish and fiercely jealous of his best friend, Sora. Although in his universe Sora got the short end of the stick, Riku’s always admired his carefree and optimistic attitude and the way that he followed his heart with few complications. Riku isn’t like that. He’s not some hero who will go out and make friends easily or put aside his own selfish desires to help complete strangers; he does care about his friends, especially Sora and Kairi, but often times he’s been reckless for the sake of his own ambitions, be it opening the Keyhole to Destiny Islands, meddling for the sake of his own pride, or refusing to close Kingdom Hearts out of the fear that he’d never get to see Sora again.

By now he acknowledges his faults; he knows he’s made mistakes, but his flaws also act as a great strength. At the present time Riku’s greatest ambition is to kill two birds with one stone; he wishes to keep a promise to himself and Kairi all while setting things right across the worlds which, due to his own actions, are faced with even more Heartless than ever before. Sure, he has regrets, but rather than mope around. Instead, he keeps moving forward, determined to find his own strength and his own path-one that isn’t quite ideal for most heroes, but just right for him.

Which brings us to our next point: friends. Riku isn’t Sora. He doesn’t go around cheerfully making friends with nearly everyone he meets. In fact, he’s pretty picky. To befriend Riku requires earning his trust, just ask Donald and Goofy. However, since becoming Keybearer he’s opened up just a little, and those he does befriend he’ll stand by with fierce loyalty. For example, when Sora believed that Maleficent and her goons were heroes and that he was only doing what was right, Riku continuously tried to knock some sense into his best friend, completely refusing his pleas to help. Then, with Kairi, Riku was almost willing to kidnap Pinocchio from Traverse Town in order to find a way to bring her back; he didn’t, but the temptation was still there.

And then there’s his promise. After Sora sacrificed himself for Kairi, Riku made a promise to find whatever’s left of Sora and bring him back and that, more importantly, he wouldn’t return home until they found him. It’s this promise that led Riku to making the selfish choice of leaving Kingdom Hearts open, forsaking the worlds for the sake of one individual.

When it comes to psychological weaknesses, bringing up any of Riku’s faults is certain to spark something from him, for despite how much he’s accepted his mistakes, they’re still sensitive spots that he hates to have exposed, especially from those he dislikes. Also, when angered, Riku’s far less likely to think things through and instead prone to rushing into a situation without a second thought. Furthermore, while not completely naïve, Riku’s still capable of being manipulated with the right persuasion. Convince him that you’ll give him something he desires, and he might just pull through, for better or worse, although doing so is a great big chore.

Other Skills/Abilities: Riku’s greatest physical strength stems from his weapon, the Keyblade. It’s been said that the Keyblade is a weapon capable of saving the worlds… or destroying them, and it’s not hard to see why. At its core, the Keyblade is as its name states: a key. It can open and close any lock with ease, be it simple treasure chests or the Keyholes that protect the many worlds from the lingering darkness.

It’s also a very powerful weapon, acting not only as a sword, but as a means of casting magic. With it, Riku can use the many spells he’s learned on his journey, including: Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, and Cure, as well as Gravity, Stop, and Aero. These spells are fairly self explanatory, dealing with the elements as well as time and gravity itself, and Riku’s leveled up many of his spells to be quite potent when in battle.
Fire shoots bursts of flames from the Keyblade, while Blizzard unleashes ice. With thunder he’s capable of striking down many opponents with electricity, and cure acts as a means of healing.

In addition to magic, the Keyblade can also change forms depending on the Keychains equipped. Each chain changes the appearance of the Keyblade, be it Oblivion, which gives it an overall dark appearance and great strength, or Oathkeeper, which is lighter and excellent with magic, just to name a few examples. Depending on the form it takes, the Keyblade also has a different range, for its length and density often changes as well.
But perhaps the Keyblade’s greatest use to Riku’s new enemies, the Organization, is its ability to free the hearts of slain Heartless, sending them to their place of origin: Kingdom Hearts.

Keyblade aside, Riku’s learned many other tricks on his journey. He can jump fairly high with the high jump ability, and thanks to his adventures in Neverland he can glide short distances. He’s picked up many combat techniques as well, such as Strike Raid, a long range move performed by throwing the Keyblade, and ars arcanium, a rapid combo attack. He can also roll around to dodge attacks, but unlike Sora, that’s a move he taught himself back on the islands.

When you ignore all his fancy abilities, though, Riku’s greatest advantage as Keybearer is all those years he spent sparring back home; he knows how to use a weapon, and his overall fighting style hasn’t changed, Keyblade or not.

Other Weaknesses: Despite his powers and skill with a weapon, Riku is still human. He’ll still bleed when injured, get tired after too much fighting, running, or anything else. While quick and pretty strong, if one were to wear him down, then he’d be at their mercy. Just as too much fighting will tire him, too much use of magic will live him powerless until he uses ethers/elixirs, lets it recharge on its own, or collects little magic bubbles that his enemies drop.

History: It all began on the night of a meteor shower, when a strange little girl appeared with no recollection of her home and her name as her only ties to her former life. Said girl became the friend to both Riku and Sora at a very young age, and ever since then they were inseparable. However, aside from friendship, Kairi’s arrival brought forth many questions. Where was she from? Why couldn’t she remember anything? How did she get there? These and many other questions would haunt Riku over the years, until the fateful day they decided to build a raft.

After living on his home for years on end, Riku became unhappy with his home. Even as a young child he wanted nothing more than to step out and see what lie beyond his home, the world known as Destiny Islands. While to many it seemed like paradise made real, Riku saw it as a prison, surrounded by water. Though he and his two best friends passed the time by sparring, hanging out, and racing, his curiosity was unwavering. Even Sora expressed some interest in other worlds, though he and Kairi seemed perfectly content at home. Still, together they worked on a plan to leave their homes, to run away on a small raft.

And it all started great. Riku and Sora both gathered the necessary supplies and provisions, although Riku himself was always one step ahead of the game, finishing up while the other goofed off. Kairi acted as an organizer during the two days they worked on the raft, though even she lent a hand. When they weren’t working, they’d all sit together and watch the sunsets, and it was at these times that Riku would continue to express his interest in other worlds, even thanking Kairi for giving him the idea to build the raft in the first place.

Unfortunately, one night, this all changed.

Rather than spend the evening together, Sora and Kairi spoke on the docks, and Riku watched from afar, as if waiting for them to join him in their usual spot. However, the context of the conversation would change everything for the trio, whether it was a jest or not.

“Riku’s changed.” “Let’s take the raft and go, just the two of us!”

These words struck Riku hard. Rather than stick around any longer, he rushed into the nearby cave, which they’d all dubbed the “Secret Place”, home of a mysterious door. As Riku approached the door, he became even more infuriated by the drawing of Sora handing Kairi a paopu. And then a mysterious man appeared in the cave, tempting Riku to open the door.

He twisted the words of Riku’s friends, making it seem as though they truly wished to leave without him, and in the end Riku, caught up in his frustration, complied, opening the door in hopes of finding freedom.

Instead, he let the Darkness into his world in the form of strange, black creatures.

Although he tried to fight off these creatures, his wooden sword did little to hold them back. With no other choice, he retreated, outside the cave, only to find Sora. The two discussed Kairi’s joke earlier, and with the truth revealed, the two immediately scoured the island in search for Kairi. As they searched, however, the island began to crumble bit by bit, and even the raft fell completely apart. By the time he’d searched the other side of the island, he still hadn’t found Kairi, and so he met up with Sora back outside the secret place.

At around that time Kairi emerged from the Seaside Shack, chased by the black creatures. Riku and Sora immediately pursued her, avoiding the dark beasts along the way. Unfortunately, once they reached Kairi on the small island all three had no choice but to jump into the water in order to avoid the monsters.

And even then the creatures lurked in the water, pulling them deep into the abyss. It was here, beneath the water that Riku and his friends faced the darkness with little hopes of escape-that is, until he summoned a strange, Key-shaped weapon and sliced through the creatures, bringing them back to the surface only to find the island in even worse condition than before. Already it became clear that they’d have to leave, and the raft wasn’t an option. Therefore, Riku suggested they return to the door in the Secret Place and use that as their escape, for it’d be their only chance.

Immediately they hurried to the Secret Place, Riku fighting the creatures with his new weapon, but rather than find freedom, the trio found immediate separation. As the door opened, Kairi vanished, falling right for Sora and disappearing, and shortly after both Riku and Sora were launched onto a floating chunk of the island, where an enormous black beast appeared, towering over the two boys. Riku, having seen this creature in a dream, took on the beast and defeated it, and soon after both he and Sora were tossed into the air, separated as the islands fell into Darkness.

When Riku woke up, he was alone and in a world unlike his own. It was a quaint little world called Traverse Town, and it was here that he learned about the Darkness and even the Keyblade itself. Residents of the town told him how their worlds fell thanks to mysterious ‘shadows’ and informed him that his world was likely gone as well. Rather than fret, though, Riku took this opportunity to explore, for despite the complications, he’d made it into a new world after all.

But as he explored Traverse Town, more of the ‘shadows’ appeared, and each time they emerged he’d have no choice but to fight them off with his ‘Keyblade’. Eventually he encountered a man named Leon, who warned him of the dangers of his weapon before attacking Riku without warning. Riku won by a hair and managed to escape into the third district of the town, only to be defeated by another large monster, this one made of floating bits of armor.

Luckily, Leon rescued Riku, and upon waking Riku found himself in the company of Leon, a girl named Yuffie, and a strange duck and dog known as Donald and Goofy. There Leon and the others explain the situation in full detail; the Keyblade was a powerful weapon with the potential to save the worlds. However, along with bringing great power, the Keyblade brought a great threat, for the black creatures known as Heartless would chase down its wielder in hopes of claiming his heart for themselves. Furthermore, Donald and Goofy were given orders to follow the Keybearer by their missing King.

While it answered some questions, it left Riku wondering even more than before. Unfortunately, before he could ask the Heartless attacked, and the group had no choice but to fight through hordes of the creatures. While Leon and Yuffie fought back the small fry, Riku, Donald, and Goofy rushed to the Second District, where the armored heartless from before attacked.

But together they defeated the Heartless, and soon after Riku got even more answers about the situation. Leon affirmed that his world and the people in it likely fell into Darkness, or at least became scattered across the worlds. Furthermore, Donald and Goofy told him more about their mission. However, Riku, having no interest in ‘hero business’, saw no reason to join the two… at least, until they mentioned their Gummi Ship and the fact that they’d travel to other worlds. If it meant seeing new sights and the chance that he’d catch up with Sora and Kairi, then tolerating two ‘wise guys’ was worth it. Thus, Riku chose to travel with Donald and Goofy, for better or worse.

And so they began a journey across worlds, though not on the greatest of terms. Though Donald insisted they avoid meddling and seek out the King, Riku, more often than not, acted on his own agenda. Many times he’d wander off and indeed meddle, forcing Donald and Goofy to pull him out of tight spots. Along the way they also learned more about the Heartless, found hints of the King’s whereabouts, such as Gummi blocks, and even heard news of ‘another boy’, possibly Sora.

After visiting Olympus Coliseum and Wonderland, the trio returned to Traverse Town, where they met up with an excited Sora, who just couldn’t wait to tell Riku about his ‘new friends’ and the worlds he’d visited. Rather than follow Donald and Goofy to Cid’s place, both Riku and Sora snuck off and explored the town, talking about their experiences. Evidently, Sora made friends with a group of ‘fallen heroes’, led by a woman named Maleficent, and it was she who helped Sora find Riku.

Soon enough, Donald and Goofy caught up with them, telling Riku that they needed to find a guy named Merlin to deliver an old book. Sora decided to tag along, and together they visited the Magician’s Study. At first it seemed empty, and Sora even claimed to have seen Kairi again, much to Riku’s confusion, but before long Merlin arrived alongside the Fairy Godmother, who told Riku and the others how they were to help by order of King Mickey.

After getting some information on magic and summons, they returned to the Third District. Sora asked Riku to come along with him so they could both find Kairi, but Donald refused. Riku then tried to ask Sora to come along, but Donald once again refused. In the end, Sora scurried off to take care of some business, promising to meet up with Riku again later, while Riku and the others met up with Leon and company in the second district.

There they learned of Keyholes and of Maleficent, who supposedly caused the downfall of the world Leon and his friends originally came from. This left Riku questioning why Sora called Maleficent his friend, not to mention how heroic her allies were. After an explanation of the Ansem Reports, the new adjustments to the Gummi Ship, and the gift of a summon gem, Riku, Donald, and Goofy headed outside. The bell on the Gizmo shop’s tower rung three times, and then another armored Heartless appeared.

They fought and defeated it, sealing the Traverse Town Keyhole in the process, but as they returned to the first district, Sora was nowhere in sight. With no other choice, the trio headed off with their new and improved Gummi Ship and continued to journey across the worlds with their newfound knowledge.

Much like before, they overheard mentions of another boy throughout their travels, although Sora didn’t show up again just yet. Nevertheless, Riku continued to search, all while reluctantly carrying out his duties to seal the Keyhole and being forced to tag along with Donald and Goofy. Despite everything, the still didn’t consider them friends and wound up pushing them away whenever they tried to get close. That is, until they came across a very peculiar world, drenched deep in Darkness.

The world, Pleasure Island, would prove to be the greatest challenge faced by the trio, and not because of the ruffians who smoked, drank alcohol, and caused destruction, nor because of the strange attractions. Rather, it was the Heartless that seemed to pop up around every corner. These Heartless looked similar to Shadows, but they were larger, more agile, and far too much for the trio to handle, even as a team. Whenever they appeared, they had no choice but to flee, and their appearances were quite frequent.

Eventually they came across a little wooden boy named Pinocchio, an acquaintance of Jiminy, the royal chronicler. Apparently they both came from the same world, although when Jiminy tried to convince him to tag along Pinocchio denied, as he seemed to be enjoying the island far too much and even made a new friend named Lampwick, who encouraged Pinocchio to "ditch that bug".

While Jiminy tried to negotiate, Riku snuck off to get a better look around, forcing Donald and Goofy to chase him around again. Along the way they encountered more heartless and later discovered that the boys on the island were slowly being transformed into donkeys because they "made jackasses out of themselves", and the less fortunate ones go went further and become heartless.

With this new knowledge the trio rushed back to find Jiminy and Pinocchio, only to find that he’d already sprouted a pair of donkey ears and a tail, and that Lampwick became a complete donkey, unable to even speak. At this point Pinocchio willingly decided to tag along, but one little problem remained...the Keyhole was still open! With so many heartless about, this could only end in disaster, and so the group hurried to search for the Keyhole and seal it off before the world became any worse.

And it was then that they met the Coachman, the very man who ran the joint. Teeming with darkness, the man refused to let them interfere with his operation, instead summoning an enormous heartless: the Behemoth. Said heartless crushed him to death and then proceeded to attack Riku and the others.

But this fight was not like previous ones. The Behemoth's size and strength made for one powerful opponent-- too strong, in fact. The more they fought, the more they realized that this was futile. More and more heartless surrounded the Keyhole, lowering the odds of success until they had no choice left but to flee. And flee they did, leaving Pleasure Island to fall into ruin.

In fact, as they flew away, Pinocchio made a wish on the "star", only to watch it fade.

The disastrous events of Pleasure Island left an impact on Riku. Now two worlds had fallen because of his incompetence, and both in similar ways. What's more, this world wasn't even his own, and while it did appear vile and corroded with darkness it probably was home to someone out there.

And it really put everything from his journey so far into perspective. Phil's lecture about the strength of a hero, the Cheshire Cat's warnings about the shadows, Triton's wariness of the Keyblade, and even what Leon and the others told him... Being Keybearer wasn't a game. It was a job, an obligation, and Donald and Goofy really needed him. At last, Riku accepted his fate and promised to work with Donald and Goofy from here on out. Similarly, Donald and Goofy, albeit reluctantly, agreed to help find Sora and Kairi.

So they pressed on. In Halloween Town they met up with Sora again, and though the two boys were on great terms at first, tensions arose when Sora stole the heart made by Dr. Finkelstein. When Riku questioned Sora’s actions, he explained that Kairi lost her heart, becoming much like a lifeless puppet. Therefore, if he gave her a heart, she might wake up.

Naturally, Riku was completely shocked, not to mention appalled. If this was true and Kairi was a lifeless puppet, then why would a false heart bring her back? A heart that hasn’t been tested, at that. Riku even went so far as to question Sora’s new ‘friends’, only for him to deny his evidence of them being evil. He fled shortly after, and the trio immediately pursued him with the help of Jack Skellington, fighting through Heartless, beating Lock, Shock, and Barrel, and even confronting Oogie Boogie himself, who, unfortunately for Sora, would later devour the heart.

They defeated Oogie and destroyed his manor, sealing the world’s Keyhole and took off soon after, hot on Sora’s trail as they headed for the next world: Agrabah.

There they met up with the supposed Prince Ali, learned of the Genie, and once again searched for the Keyhole with no avail. It wasn’t until later that night, when Jafar seized the Genie’s power to become a great sorcerer and brought himself, Jasmine, and Sora to the Keyhole using his second wish. At this time Ali revealed himself to be a fraud and explained how he obtained the Genie’s lamp-it was then that he remembered seeing an unusual Keyhole within the Cave of Wonders. Together, they took the flying carpet to said cave and searched for Jafar and Sora…

But by the time they reached the Keyhole, Sora and Jasmine were already leaving with Maleficent at their side. Without so much as a word, Riku’s friend simply vanished in flames, and Jafar used his new magical prowess to transform into an enormous cobra, attacking Riku and the others.

The fight dragged on until Riku and Aladdin taunted Jafar, calling him ‘second rate’ compared to the Genie. It was then that he became a Genie himself and even stronger than before… But in the end they trapped Jafar back in the lamp alongside his parrot, Iago, and Riku sealed the Keyhole.

Back at the Palace they discussed Jasmine’s whereabouts and explained the situation to the Sultan. Genie even offered to rescue Jasmine as Aladdin’s final wish, only for him to decline, wishing for his freedom. When Riku asked why, Aladdin explained that friends don’t back down on promises. Then, as Riku, Donald, and Goofy departed, Genie decided to tag along.

But as soon as they left Agrabah, an enormous pirate ship attacked, bringing Riku and company on board. There Sora greeted them with a smile. He begged for Riku to join him and Maleficent in order to ‘save’ the worlds and bring Kairi back, going so far as to show Riku Kairi’s lifeless body. In return, Riku denied his friend’s humble request, telling Sora that he’d picked the wrong sort of friends.

The trio was immediately sent through a trapdoor afterwards, where they met up with Peter Pan. Together they scoured the ship, searching for Sora and Kairi as well as a girl named Wendy. Unfortunately, by the time they reached the cabin Sora had already left with Maleficent, evidently, and in order to save Wendy they had to face Captain Hook. They defeated him and returned Wendy to her home in London, where they sealed the next Keyhole and picked up another Gummi Block.

So they headed back to Traverse Town. On the way, Riku took a moment to consider recent events. Kairi really was a lifeless puppet, and Sora still continued to believe that Maleficent was a kindhearted woman. It didn’t add up, and if things kept going the way they were, then they’d probably end up fighting. And Kairi… how would they even bring her back?

While Cid readied the Gummi Ship for their assault on Hollow Bastion, Riku attempted to capture Pinocchio from his temporary home in Traverse Town, only for Jiminy to catch him in the act and remind him to follow his conscience and, above all else, his heart. Riku agreed to this with little protest, and soon after he returned to Donald and Goofy with the new and improved Gummi Ship. Hollow Bastion was just around the corner, and with it, the final Keyhole… or so it seemed.

Ironically, right as they arrived Sora was already waiting for them. He told Riku right away that if he didn’t help, then he’d have no choice to fight, which wasn’t something he wished to do. When Riku refused, the two prepared to fight, but Riku just couldn’t take it. This was his best friend, and facing him was just too much. Because of his fear, the Keyblade vanished and refused to appear again. Sora left him a wooden sword as an apology and fled, and the trio was alone again.

Donald and Goofy took the time to discuss what to do. Without the Keyblade they were left with no one else to follow, and Riku even suggested that they go on without him, if that’s what needed to be done. However, they stuck with him, for the King never mentioned a situation like this. Together, they journeyed through the enormous castle, teaming up with a Beast along the way.

And before long they found Sora again. Just as before, he pleaded with Riku just to help, so they could work together and save Kairi. Again, Riku refused, telling Sora off for being so dense when the truth was right in front of him. Furthermore, he decided that if it meant knocking some sense into him, then by all means, he’d fight Sora. The Keyblade returned shortly after, and the two fought one-on-one, while Donald and Goofy cheered Riku on.

Sora’d become much stronger since their sparring days on the islands. He knew magic, much like Riku’s, and his skills with the Soul Eater nearly rivaled Riku’s with the Keyblade. In the end, Riku won all the same, and Sora fled yet again.

They pursued him, of course, continuing through the castle’s many floors until they met up with Maleficent. She told them that their efforts were futile, and that the Darkness would soon swallow the world. Another fight ensued, but in the end Maleficent escaped. Riku and co followed her, but by the time they caught up Sora was standing there by her side, holding an unusual Keyblade.

He told Maleficent that he could help her now, while a strange voice beckoned Sora to stick the Keyblade into her heart. He did, and Maleficent transformed into a dragon, attacking not only Riku and his friends, but Sora as well. At long last, Sora realized that Riku was right, and rather than run away he teamed up with Riku, using his new Keyblade to aid in the fight against the now insane Maleficent. Upon her defeat, Sora apologized for all the trouble he caused and led the trio straight to the room where Kairi was being kept.

Riku and Sora took some time to discuss the situation, while Donald and Goofy waited just outside the room. During this time Sora told Riku of all the times he thought he saw and heard Kairi and how even the Genie’s magic couldn’t bring her back (he’d tried to use the lamp before Jafar got it). It was then that they realized that perhaps Kairi’s heart wasn’t stolen by the Heartless, but within Sora’s very being. If that were the case, then the only way to bring her back would be to use the Dark Keyblade…

Riku refused to accept this, telling Sora that there had to be another way, but the more they discussed it, the more they realized that there really was no other option. In order to save Kairi, Sora would have to sacrifice himself. No matter what, Riku would be without one of his best friends.

But rather than let the truth bog them down, Riku challenged Sora to one final spar, wooden swords and all just for old time’s sake. At the end of the match, Riku intentionally lost in order to let Sora go with at least one victory. They said their goodbyes, and Riku even tried to tell Sora about his jealousy, only for him to tell Riku to think positive and compliment his heroism. Sora then used the Dark Keyblade, and Donald and Goofy returned to the room.

Kairi immediately regained consciousness, watching alongside Riku as Sora disappeared. Soon after she apologized to Riku her joke on the islands, but before anything else could be said a strange man named Ansem-the very man who once ruled Leon’s home-appeared.

He thanked Kairi for her completion of the Keyhole and told Riku how he’d attempted to use Sora as a vessel, only to be thwarted by Kairi’s light. Still, with the Keyhole complete, he no longer needed the Keybearer or the Princesses, thus he summoned a horde of Neoshadows and prepared to attack. Riku and his friends were outnumbered and surrounded. With no other choice, they fled, right as the Beast arrived to fight off the Heartless.

Together, they all returned to Traverse Town, right as shadows engulfed Hollow Bastion.

When they returned, Cid offered to install a new navigation Gummi in the ship in order to make it possible to return to Hollow Bastion. While he prepped the Gummi, Riku and Kairi spoke privately outside the Accessory Shop. There they spoke of Sora and his sacrifice and about the final challenge that seemed so close. More importantly, Riku made a promise to Kairi, telling her that, no matter what, he wouldn’t return home until they found whatever was left of Sora.

Right as the trio prepared to leave, Kairi asked to come along. At first Riku denied her wishes, but he eventually gave in when they realized that with Sora gone they’d need to stick together. Despite the risks, Riku decided to simply protect Kairi if need be, so they all returned to Hollow Bastion in hopes of sealing the Keyhole-Leon and the others followed in their own Gummi Ship.

The Princesses of Heart greeted them and told them of what happened after they left. Evidently, Ansem disappeared when the Keyhole opened, but the Darkness continued to flood the world, forcing them to hold it back. Kairi decided to stay for the time being, holding back the Darkness alongside her fellow Princesses while the trio sealed the Keyhole.

One obstacle stood between Riku and the Keyhole, though, and that was a strange man in black. This man was vague, saying little of his identity or his purpose in the castle. Instead, he attacked almost immediately, proving to be a great adversary. The fight was long and hard, and when Riku asked who he was, he simply said “a mere shell”. With this man out of the way, they continued to the Keyhole.

Inside, they fought another Behemoth, but unlike on Pleasure Island, this time defeating the beast. They sealed the Keyhole and met up with Leon’s gang and Kairi right outside. The conversation that followed would haunt Riku all the way until he defeated Ansem.

By defeating Ansem, they would indeed restore all of the fallen worlds, but doing so would also separate the worlds. The barriers between them would reform, and it would be impossible to travel by Gummi Ship. This would put a damper on Riku’s promise, because he’d be unable to find Sora with the barriers back in place.

He pretended to go along with this just in case, though. There was no way Riku could outright tell them of his fears. Shortly after the Princesses revealed that they could feel a great Darkness not too far from the Bastion, likely the very world where Ansem waited.

The trio and Kairi left for this world, making their way through the Darkness along the way. While Riku, Donald, and Goofy struggled through the many layers of the world itself, facing illusions of the worlds they visited. Each one appeared empty, save for the Heartless. At the very end of these worlds stood a final door, where Ansem likely waited on the other side.

Before passing through the door, the Gummi Ship appeared, and from it came Kairi. Evidently she, Chip, and Dale followed Riku and the others, using the ship’s artillery to assist from above. However, Riku refused to let Kairi go any further, for the sake of her own safety. Given that she couldn’t come along, Kairi gave Riku her good luck charm, telling him to bring it back to her, that way they could search for Sora together. With the charm in hand, Riku entered the door with Donald and Goofy, only to find an illusion of his home, Destiny Islands.

Ansem indeed waited for them, taunting Riku by reminding him how it’s his fault that his world fell into Darkness, his fault that Sora lost his heart, and, above all else, that Darkness would rise and claim all worlds, for it is ‘the heart’s true essence’. Donald and Goofy reminded Riku that Ansem was only trying to trick him, and in the end Riku concluded that light and Darkness really didn’t matter. Either way he’d take Ansem down, no questions.

The trio fought Ansem many times until he pulled them deep into what he called the “Endless Abyss”, where the Heart of all Worlds waited. What’s more, he revealed Kairi, claiming that it was foolish to bring her into the very world he controlled. Ansem used his dark powers to imprison her as well as Donald and Goofy within the enormous Heartless Ship he commanded, though as the fight progressed Riku rescued them one by one. Upon his defeat, Ansem tried to open the door to Kingdom Hearts, only to be destroyed by the light.

But despite the light deep within, Darkness continued to seep from inside the door. Riku and his friends all rushed up to the door, where at long last King Mickey appeared, urging the group to close the door and reminding them that the light will always be there. However, Leon’s words still lingered in Riku’s mind. Closing the door would destroy all chances of finding Sora, which he just couldn’t risk. Therefore, instead of closing Kingdom Hearts for good, Riku relied on the very force he’d been fighting this whole time: Darkness.

In his desperation he opened up a corridor and urged his friends to go through. Donald and Goofy both panicked, but Kairi understood Riku’s actions. After a bit of quick reasoning, they fled through the corridor and emerged in a grassy field, leaving King Mickey and the Endless Abyss behind.

Despite being incredibly weakened from using the Darkness, Riku chose to follow the path along the field, as he and his friends had nowhere else to go. Along the way he apologized for such a hasty move, but Kairi, Donald, and Goofy all accepted Riku’s apology, for it was perfectly understandable for him to worry about his friend. Whatever mess Riku created they’d just have to solve, all while searching for Sora and the King.

So they wandered aimlessly for days, until one night they were met by a mysterious man in red named DiZ. He spoke of a great danger, and how the worlds were slowly being swallowed by the darkness, all due to the fact that Kingdom Hearts remained open. Though it took some persuasion before the entire group believed, they eventually accepted this, and DiZ took them to a place known as Twilight Town, where he further informed them of the situation. There he further explained the state of affairs in other worlds, the fact that King Mickey had mysteriously gone missing, and how a new threat, the Organization, was on the rise. In addition to this, they were given a new Gummi Ship and a new mission indeed; they would need to stop this Organization at all costs, all while fighting off the immense effusion of Heartless released from Kingdom Hearts.

Before they could begin, though, there was the issue of Kairi. She didn’t know how to fight, which would only hinder them in the long run. Therefore, Riku decided to teach her some basic techniques in order to help her keep up, while Donald shared his knowledge of magic. After some basic training, they took off at last to their first destination: Hollow Bastion.

Unfortunately, their arrival wasn’t well received. The residents of Hollow Bastion treated Riku with distrust; even Leon and his gang were resentful towards Riku, claiming that he’d been causing trouble in the town, even though he’d destroyed many of the new Heartless that arrived. When Riku explained that he hadn’t visited Hollow Bastion since they sealed the Keyhole, this only led to confusion, even when Kairi, Donald, and Goofy vouched for him. In the end, they all decided to search the nearby town for answers.

They got answers, alright. According to many of the townspeople Riku and a mysterious boy in black terrorized the town, causing destruction worse than many of the Heartless and even going so far as to attack people along the way. Further proof of this appeared soon after, when a strange, blonde boy in a black cloak appeared atop one of the rooftops.

This strange boy accused Riku of being a “replica” and even went so far as to attack him and his friends. A fight followed, as Riku, Donald, and Goofy all fought this boy with some help from Kairi. In the middle of the fight, though, Riku was struck down by another boy in black… one with his face.

This Riku-lookalike summoned barriers to keep everyone except for Riku and the blonde out of the fray. He also accused Riku of being a replica and claimed that he’s the reason the blonde boy lost his heart. Furthermore, this doppelganger referred to the blonde as “Sora”. Before Riku could question them, another fight ensued, both boys fighting off Riku with great strength; the lookalike even had a Keyblade of his own.

Riku managed to win, albeit barely, but before he could get any answers the lookalike and “Sora” vanished through a Dark Corridor without another word.

After the fight Leon’s group apologized for their suspicions and promised to inform the town of the Riku lookalike. The damage still remained, though, and Riku and his friends decided to stick around long enough to fix at least some of the damage. It was the least they could do.

Reality Description:

Overview;

The world of Kingdom Hearts is vast, consisting of many separate worlds with their own unique laws. These worlds range from island paradises to cities under the sea, to even worlds based on holidays such as Halloween and Christmas. Save for a few, nearly every world is based on a Disney movie of some sort. However, despite each world’s individual aspects, they share one common trend: each world contains a heart and a Keyhole leading to said heart. The heart of a world is its most vulnerable point; should the world’s heart fall to Darkness, so does the entire world. The path to a world’s heart lies in the Keyhole, a sort of gateway which can be sealed by the Keyblade.

Light and darkness are central themes in the Kingdom Hearts universe. Every heart consists of both, save for the seven Princesses of Heart, who are maidens of pure light. Both are powerful forces, although Darkness is especially dangerous, for those who use the darkness are likely to sink deeper and deeper, putting their own hearts at risk. Should one completely succumb to darkness, they will become a Heartless, a creature that acts on the simple instinct to collect more hearts. They come in many shapes and sizes, some more powerful than others, but their behavior is generally the same, and the heart they seek most of all is that of the Keybearer.

The body and soul left behind when a Heartless is created is called a Nobody. These creatures, too, take on many forms, and those with the strongest will may even retain their original human appearance. They’re intelligent, unlike Heartless, but although they retain memories of their lives as humans, they lack emotions and act solely on the memories of their feelings as a sort of ruse. The strongest of these Nobodies make up the Organization, a group of humanoid Nobodies as well as Riku’s Replica, and their goal is to gather hearts in order to become whole.

While Heartless release hearts when they’re destroyed, Nobodies simply fade into Darkness, leaving nothing behind. It’s said that this is the fate of all Nobodies.

The Kingdom Hearts universe is also full of magic. Some of it is elemental, such as fire and blizzard spells, other magic can change one’s appearance, such as the spells Donald uses to transform himself as well as Riku and Goofy when visiting worlds such as Atlantica and Halloween Town. Other forms of magic include the ability to teleport from place to place, which Merlin demonstrates, and even power over time, such as Stop magic and the door to Timeless River in Disney Castle.

It seems possible for even the dead to thrive, as Olympus Coliseum contains an Underworld, where spirits of the deceased still roam. Similarly, Halloween Town contains many undead residents as well as Jack Skellington’s pet dog, Zero, who is a ghost. Regular death still seems quite possible, though, with no indication on whether or not people from outside worlds share these forms of afterlife.

Cloning is also possible, and Riku’s Replica is living proof of this. Overall, this reality seems to have nearly endless possibilities that vary from world to world.

Locations;

There are many important locations in the story right now. At this point Twilight Town acts as a sort of home base for Riku and his friends, and together they stay in an abandoned mansion that DiZ has offered to them, which contains a few empty bedrooms, a dining room, a library, and a computer room in the basement. The basement corridor leads straight into a chamber full of strange pods, though this area is strictly off limits to everyone except DiZ.

Outside the mansion lies a town full of shops, a sandlot, and even a train station. The station itself has an enormous clock tower, which provides a great view of the sunset. Should one take the train, they will have access to the Sunset Terrace, a smaller district of the town said to have ‘seven wonders’. This district leads up to Sunset Hill, a grassy hill that gives an excellent view of the terrace and the train tracks.

Other areas include the forest that surrounds the mansion and the underground concourse that consists of many different tunnels, which lead to practically every part of the town. Anyone can visit this world, and it’s here that Sora’s Nobody (see below) was recruited to join the Organization.

In the past, Traverse Town acted similarly to Twilight Town, and because of the status of Kingdom Hearts, this crossroads between worlds continues to exist. It’s extremely likely that when a world falls to darkness that those lucky to survive will wind up in Traverse Town. Leon and his gang used to live here until they returned to Hollow Bastion. This town consists of three districts and has many businesses from shops to restaurants, to even a hotel. It’s almost always night time in this world.

Hollow Bastion, while not quite as important at this point in the story, still is a key world. Nine years prior to the story it was a peaceful world known as Radiant Garden, ruled by a man named Ansem the Wise. However, when his apprentices dabbled in darkness and Maleficent arrived, the world fell into chaos and the residents were forced to flee. Now the world is in ruins, from the enormous castle to the small town that surrounds it. Even so, Leon, Cid, Yuffie, and Aerith act as a restoration committee of sorts and have even installed a defense system to protect the town with the now increased Heartless threat.

Never Land is one of the many worlds Riku saved during the first arc of the story. There are two parts of Neverland. London is the home of a girl named Wendy and contains the Big Ben Clock Tower, where Riku’s Replica, Sora’s Nobody, and Namine spend their time after missions. If one takes the second star to the right by way of flight, then they’re bound to find Neverland itself, a fantastic land consisting of a small island with a mermaid lagoon, an Indian village, a jungle, and even a skull-shaped cave. Sailing the ocean that surrounds the island is the pirate ship of Captain Hook, which Riku and his friends visited in their first journey.

A young boy named Peter Pan lives here alongside his fairy companion, Tinkerbell, and a group of Lost Boys. Because Riku hasn’t visited Neverland since he sealed the Keyhole, Pan believes the Replica to be the real Riku, and this is one world that doesn’t get terrorized. Anyone can access Neverland as well as the Clock Tower, although Riku and his friends haven’t been to the island.

Destiny Islands used to be Riku’s home before he opened the world’s heart to darkness. This world was once a paradise consisting of a small ‘play’ island and a larger island with a small residential town. Because of Riku’s actions and refusal to close the door to Kingdom Hearts, this world no longer exists, save for a small chunk of it at the heart of End of the World that resembles the play island.

Speaking of which, End of the World also exists still. It’s a world teeming with darkness that contains pieces of every world that’s fallen as well as illusions of other worlds that still do exist, such as Olympus, Wonderland, Neverland, and so on. The most powerful heartless seem to dwell here, and it takes a Gummi Ship with the right navigation blocks to get there. At the moment this world is off limits to everyone except the Organization, Heartless, Riku’s Replica, and DiZ, as Riku and his friends have a new Gummi Ship without the most recent mod. They plan to go there and finish things as soon as they can bring Sora back and find King Mickey.

Although there is no Chain of Memories plot in this universe, Castle Oblivion still remains as a sort of abandoned castle full of mysteries. It’s an enormous castle that consists of thirteen basement and top-level floors, each one with pale white walls. There is said to be a chamber here containing a suit of armor, but no one has ever found it, regardless of all the searching the Organization’s done. Later on this world will act as a sort of climax for Riku and his Replica, as they will fight on the top floor. The Replica also believes that this is where he met up with Xemnas and decided to help the Organization.

The Organization’s base of operations is the World that Never Was, a city shrouded in endless night and frequent rainstorms. It contains many buildings, though each seems to be abandoned, save for the distant castle that the Organization considers its home. Said Castle is enormous and just as colorless as Castle Oblivion. It contains a library, a computer, rooms for each of the residents, as well as many other chambers, far too many to count. Floating just above the castle is an incomplete moon, although it vaguely resembles the shape of a heart. This is the artificial Kingdom Hearts that the Organization plans to create.

At the moment only Organization members and Riku’s Replica have access to this world. It will be open for Riku and his friends at a much later date.

Characters;

Sora was and still is Riku’s best friend. They grew up together and have known one another since even before Kairi’s arrival on the island. In a way, Sora acts as a foil to Riku. He’s friendly, a bit of a goof, and has a very strong sense of right and wrong, even if he’s a bit naïve. His naivety is exactly what allowed Maleficent and the other villains to trick him, making him believe that they were heroes and that ‘rescuing’ the Princesses of Heart could save the worlds and restore Kairi’s heart. The sad part is that Sora genuinely trusted them and felt offended whenever Riku accused his friends of being villains. Even so, he continued to act friendly towards Riku whenever he could.

Sora never touched the darkness because of Kairi’s heart. The light within her shielded him from Ansem’s control, although Ansem used his inability to give in and made it seem as though Sora was ‘rejected’ by the darkness. While he didn’t consider Ansem a friend like Maleficent, Sora did accept the Dark Keyblade, believing his every word.

Although Sora did use the Dark Keyblade, his story didn’t end just then. As a Heartless, Sora maintained his mind and slowly fought through the darkness in hopes of finding the light. While Riku finished off Ansem and began his next journey, Sora managed to reach a form closer to his own, while still resembling a Heartless. For a while he helped fight off heartless in Hollow Bastion behind the scenes, but once Riku leaves Hollow Bastion after facing his Replica, Sora will start following Riku and his friends and secretly help them out, all while trying to find a way to change back. He doesn’t want to be seen as a Heartless because he fears that they’ll worry about him, and Sora just wants his friends to be happy.

Kairi acts not only as another best friend for Riku, but also a sort of love interest. Originally from Hollow Bastion, she’s been friends with Sora and Riku ever since her arrival in their world during the meteor shower. Throughout much of the first arc she remained unconscious, her heart resting inside of Sora. During this time she occasionally tried to communicate with him with little to no avail. She was, however, completely aware of everything going on and felt terrible seeing Riku and Sora at odds and just how difficult things became for them both. Upon regaining her heart she’s traveled with Riku and even learned how to fight a little. The two are quite close, due to Sora’s supposed disappearance, and together they hope to find Sora and bring him back.

Donald and Goofy are an anthropomorphic duck and dog who act as King Mickey’s knight and magician. They’ve traveled with Riku ever since Traverse Town, and although they got off to a rough start, they’re pretty close friends now. All three of them are a sort of team these days, and Donald and Goofy would both stick up for Riku even in tight situations, such as when he lost his Keyblade. It’s also worth noting that Donald’s magic is what allows them to blend in when they visit worlds that require a transformation.

King Mickey is the ruler of Disney castle. He friendly, kind hearted mouse, Mickey’s current whereabouts are unknown. He left Disney Castle in order to sort out the Heartless threat and wound up inside the door to Kingdom Hearts. Where he is now is anyone’s guess; in truth he’s traveling the worlds in search of an old friend, all while trying to help seal up the Keyholes of worlds Riku hasn’t reached yet. Eventually he’ll meet up with Sora, and the two will become travel buddies.

DiZ is a sort of enigma. Little do Riku and his friends know, he is the true Ansem, whose identity was stolen by his apprentice Xehanort. Banished into the realm of Nothingness, DiZ has become vengeful and will stop at nothing to defeat the Organization. This is why he’s recruited Riku in the first place, for he can travel throughout the worlds and combat the Organization wherever possible, all while cleaning up the Heartless filth. His role will remain fairly simple until later on in the story, mostly acting as a source of insight, all while providing Riku and his friends with a base of operations. Later on, he will become even more twisted and create his own Riku Replica… a very unstable one by the name of Xion.

Riku Replica is the Organization’s greatest asset. He’s a perfect replica of Riku, right down to the Keyblade. The only things he lacks are Riku’s summons and his Keychains. They created him in order to have a means of collecting hearts, although he doesn’t realize that he’s a fake at all. On the contrary, Riku Replica has a false set of memories that are nearly identical to Riku’s, save for the exclusion of Kairi and the inclusion of a girl named Namine, who he’s sworn to protect. In these memories Namine disappeared from the islands during a meteor shower and wasn’t a Princess of Heart at all, instead going completely missing. As for Sora, rather than sacrificing himself, the memories depict a replica using the Dark Keyblade to steal Sora’s heart.

The Replica believes the real Riku to be this replica and is convinced that said “Fake” stole not only Sora’s heart, but his entire life and all his other friends. To that end he’s very resentful towards Riku and will do whatever it takes to get back at him, such as trashing the very worlds he believes he saved. The Replica also considers Sora’s Nobody to be his best friend and views Namine, the Organization’s XIVth, as a love interest in a similar way that Riku does Kairi. However, where Riku keeps his feelings to himself, the Replica acts upon them, considering Namine to be ‘special’ and doing whatever it takes to make her happy, all while keeping his phantom promise.

At this point in the story the Replica is the main adversary, as the Organization is lurking in the shadows. Later on, however, he will become a sort of anti-hero and change from being vengeful to accepting his existence as a replica and forming his own identity. More details on this will come later, however, as it won’t be for quite some time.

Sora’s Nobody is the Organization’s thirteenth member. Unlike in canon, he does not adopt the name Roxas until much later, going by either “XIII” or “Sora”, nothing more. He shares the same set of memories as Riku’s Replica, but is much less vengeful than his best friend. Despite being a Nobody, he still believes strongly in his friendship and seems less obliged to cause destruction than the Replica. XIII believes that Riku’s memories are a lie and refuses to accept any proof otherwise. Above all else, he wants to be with his friends and refuses to let anything compromise this.

Like the Replica, he’ll later on learn the truth about his memories and eventually seek out Sora in order to find some answers. During this time he’ll leave the Replica and Namine, but later reunite with them for some time. As this won’t be for a while, these later details aren’t quite important just yet.

Namine is, technically speaking, the Organization’s fourteenth member, although she’s not exactly treated like one. Rather, she’s used as a means of manipulating memory, which is ideal for their use of Sora’s Nobody and Riku’s Replica. She’s even taken a very special place in their memories as a best friend for the two, and although she appreciates their friendship, she still feels guilty about using them.

She also forms a strange friendship with Axel, who frequently visits her when the Replica and XIII are off on missions. Thanks to Axel, she’ll eventually get the idea to try and confront Riku about what she’s done, only to back out when she overhears him speaking angrily about XIII’s memory situation. She will, however, reveal the truth towards the end of the current story arc, though the events leading up to her confession won’t exactly be pleasant.

The Organization, which has no XIII in its title for this reality, was already mentioned briefly above. Of the many members, ones worth noting are Xemnas, who is the Superior of the group, Marluxia and Larxene, who are plotting to rebel and seize Kingdom Hearts for themselves, Axel and Saix, who also have their own plans for the Organization, and Xigbar, who seems to know quite a bit about Xemnas’ true motives. Because the events of Chain of Memories don’t occur, all of the Organization members last much longer, save for Vexen, who will eventually be killed by Riku’s Replica. In fact, Marluxia will become a main enemy much later on, surpassing even Xemnas eventually. For now, though, he and Larxene are plotting behind the scenes.

Xion won’t be appearing for quite some time, as she currently does not exist. However, she will play a very large role in the story later on. In this universe, she is a creation of DiZ made from copied data from Riku’s heart. However, Riku’s heart is in terrible condition when she’s made, and all of his memories save for those of Kairi become disconnected. It’s this that gives her the appearance of Kairi, and unlike in canon, anyone can see her for what she is.

She will be given the orders to capture Namine in order to repair Riku’s memories, but instead will befriend the Replica, XIII, and Namine herself and use her mission time to hang out with them in Neverland. Later on, she’ll become unstable and start to take on traits of Riku simultaneously with those of Kairi, affecting her mental and physical state. She won’t become a key player for quite some time, so more details on her will revealed likely through canon updates.

Other important characters include the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, consisting of Leon, Yuffie, Cid, Aerith, and Merlin. They reside in Hollow Bastion and are currently trying to restore it to its former glory. The Disney characters in their respective worlds also play a part, albeit a minor one. These characters include Aladdin, Peter Pan, Ariel, Pinocchio, and many others.