✖❤✖ Application ✖ Digital Dive ✖❤✖

[sliceswithawing]

Name: Kate

DW: mellonemrys

Email Address: mellonemrys@gmail.com

AIM & YIM: mellonemrys

Player's Age: 23

Character/Series: Riku (リク); Kingdom Hearts (キングダム ハーツ) - Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts: ReCoded, Kingdom Hearts: 3D Dream Drop Distance

Character Type: KH: BBS - Minor, KH - Main, KH: CoM - Secondary, KH: 358/2 Days - Minor, KH II - Secondary, KH: ReCoded - Minor, KH: 3D - Main

Tamer Class: Soul

Character Appearance:

Character Age: 17

Digimon Evolution Line: 'Mugen' (夢幻) Tokomon <- Pico Devimon -> Angemon -> NeoDevimon -> Slash Angemon

D-Comm: Totally not required anymore buuuuuuut~!

Character History:
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep - Riku and Sora are playing together on the island. When a stranger appears. While Sora runs on ahead, Riku stops and talks to the stranger. He asks him if he comes from the outside world, and the stranger is surprised. Riku tells him that no one lives on the island they're playing on, and that he doesn't know him from the main island. He tells the stranger that the island is where they like to play and that his friend's dad had brought them on his boat. They aren't allowed to go by themselves yet. The stranger muses on how it must be lonely to be stuck in one place. And Riku tells him that he heard about someone who left the islands for good, and the stranger sees Riku morph into a tan skinned, silver haired young man (Xehanort) and then into an older Riku. Little Riku asks the stranger how he got there. The stranger asks him if there's a reason he's interested in the outside world. And Riku tells him that he wants to be strong, like the person who left. He knows that the strength he needs to protect the things that matter to him is out there somewhere.

The stranger tells him that outside of this tiny world is a much larger one. He then takes out his Keyblade and offers it to Riku saying, "In your hand take this key, so long as you have the makings then through this simple act of taking its wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me friend. No ocean shall contain you then. No more boarders around, below or above, so long as you champion the ones you love." Riku takes the hilt of the Keyblade and then Sora calls out to him. The stranger tells him to keep it a secret and he teases Sora about it, but refuses to tell him.

Where the Heart Goes [Birth by Sleep Ending] - Riku decides he's going to head home, after laying on the beach with Sora, looking up at the stars. As they're walking, Riku notices that Sora is crying. Sora says its like something is squeezing him inside. Riku tells him that somebody up in the stars who must be sad and that they must be waiting for Sora to help them. He tells Sora to open his heart and listen. Sora does and takes Ventus' heart into his for safe keeping. Riku asks him about it, and Sora tells him that he thinks it worked.

Sometime later, a strange girl about Riku and Sora's age appears on the island. She can't remember anything about where she came from, but eventually makes friends with Riku and Sora.

We'll go on Real Adventures [Kingdom Hearts] - Sora finds a cave on the island that they like to go and play on. He thinks there's a monster inside and brings Riku along with him to take a look at it. Once they go in the cave though, Riku realizes its just the wind blowing in from a gap in the rocks making the 'monster sounds' Sora was hearing. Riku sees a door inside the cave, but it won't open. After they finish exploring the cave, Riku tells Sora that they should leave the island when they're older and have real adventures. As they leave the cave, Sora asks Riku if he knows about the new girl that's staying at the mayor's house.

Leaving the Island [Kingdom Hearts] - Riku looks back at the door in the cave and sees a keyhole has appeared.

Kingdom Hearts - Riku comes upon Kairi and Sora discussing seeing other worlds. They had been planning to build a raft to go see other worlds, and Sora and Kairi were both slacking off. Riku send Sora off to go get more supplies from around the island while he collected his own supplies. That evening, the three friends watched the sunset together. Sora asks if Kairi’s world is somewhere ‘out there’, and while Riku isn’t sure, he knows that they can never truly know unless they go and look for it. If there are other worlds out there, then they could have very easily ended up somewhere else. So why were they put on that world? If Kairi hadn’t come to island, then Riku wouldn’t have come up with the idea for the raft to leave the island. As they head back to sleep for the night, Riku stops Sora and tosses him a paopu fruit which has a legend about it: If you share one with someone, your destinies will forever be intertwined. Sora seems confused, but followed Riku as he began to run off again.

The next morning, Sora comes to see him and Riku tells him that they still need a name for the raft. Riku doesn’t agree with Sora’s suggestion, and thinks it should be named Highwind. The two friends agree to race to see who will name the raft and the winner will also get to share a paopu fruit with Kairi. Riku wins the race much to Sora’s annoyance, and declares that they will name the raft Highwind. After dark fell, a storm began to brew, so Riku set out for the island they played on. Once on the island Riku discovered a door to the darkness. When Sora finds him, he tells Sora that the door has opened and that it may be their only chance to see other worlds. He wants Sora to come with him and Kairi, since they may never be able to come back. When the portal to the realm of darkness opens, Riku goes through it unquestioningly. However the Keyblade keeps Sora from going with him. Destiny Islands is destroyed by the darkness while Riku is found by Maleficent in Hallow Bastion. She can see the darkness within him, and decides to use him to gather the Princesses of Heart. She tells Riku that Sora will replace him.

Maleficent gives Riku his first Keyblade, Soul Eater and tells him to kidnap Alice from Wonderland. While she is being held in the cage for her trial by the Queen of Hearts, Riku manages to kidnap her and bring her back to Maleficent. Meanwhile Maleficent and her league of evil are keeping tabs on Sora's gang as he moves from world to world. It wasn't until Sora returned to Traverse Town though that Riku came across his best friend again. Sora can hardly believe that its really him. But when Sora asks him where Kairi is, he tells Sora that he thought Kairi was with him. Riku tells Sora not to worry about Kairi, and that she's probably made it off the island and is already looking for them. He thinks the three of them will be together again soon, just like they'd planned. Riku says to leave everything to him, as a Heartless appears and Sora destroys it with his Keyblade. Sora says he's been looking for Riku and Kairi with Donald and Goofy's help. And that they'd traveled to different worlds trying to find them. Riku is surprised at Sora's new abilities and that he's been looking for them. Goofy and Donald reveal that Sora is the Keyblade Master, and Riku takes it from Sora to look it over before tossing it back to him. However when Sora asks if Riku is coming with them, Donald says he can't come. Riku uses the distraction to leave. Maleficent hammers in the idea that Sora has replaced him and Kairi, and tells him that she'll help him find Kairi.

Riku continues to help Maleficent, kidnapping Princess Jasmine. However he lets Sora defeat Jafar in the process. Maleficent and Hades tell Riku that they have found Kairi for him, and that she is just a trip away. But Riku is cautious and asks what the catch is. Maleficent tells him that Riku is like a son to her, and that she only wants him to be happy. He doesn't believe her. She then reminds Riku that she kept her end of their bargain. The remaining members of the league of evil tell Riku that he'll need to find Pinocchio, a puppet with a heart. He may be the key to helping Kairi who is now just a body with no heart. He finds Pinocchio in the belly of Monstro along with Sora, Donald and Goofy. He challenges Sora to a game of tag before he'll tell Sora anything about Kairi. While he's playing his game with Sora, Maleficent shows up and asks him why he still cares about Sora. Riku says that he's just messing with Sora, but Maleficent doesn't really believe him. Maleficent also warns him about the growing darkness in his heart. He chastises Sora for only seeming to care about running around and showing off his Keyblade, rather than saving Kairi. When Pinocchio gets captured by a Parasite Cage though, Riku willingly works with Sora to defeat it and free the little puppet. However the Heartless spits Pinocchio out into a hole. Riku follows after him without a second thought and captures him. Even with Gepetto's protests that Pinocchio isn't just a puppet, he's his son, Riku is more determined to help Kairi get back her heart though. Sora tries to confront him, but Riku offers to let Sora join him to save Kairi. Sora tells Riku that even if Pinocchio's heart is gone, he at least still has a conscience. He continues to tell Riku that he's on the wrong side and Riku realizes that he's going to have to fight Sora. Another Heartless shows up before they can fight though and Riku leaves through a darkness portal. 

Back on Captain Hook's ship, Riku asks Maleficent about Kairi. They have her body, but with her heart gone, they can't do anything at the moment. Maleficent says that the Heartless more than likely took her heart. She tells him that there are seven Princesses of Heart that together can open the heart to all worlds, Kingdom Hearts. Once there he should be able to find a way to recover Kairi's heart. Maleficent then gives Riku the power to control the Heartless.

In Neverland, Riku is aboard Captain Hook's ship when Sora and his gang get there. Riku confronts Sora about worrying too much about his new friends and not enough about Kairi. He shows Kairi's empty body to Sora and tells him that while the Keyblade derp was goofing off, he was able to find their friend. Hook interferes and Riku reveals to Sora that he can now control the Heartless. Sora warns him that eventually the Heartless will just take over his heart, but Riku claims his heart is too strong for that to happen. He shows off his ability to create Heartless versions of people by making Anti-Sora. Then he drops Sora into the brig with his new friends and orders them to keep Sora away from Kairi until they land. Riku and Hook had captured Wendy thinking that maybe she was one of the seven Princesses of Heart, but she ends up not being one. Riku tells Hook to leave Wendy behind as she's of no use to them. Hook tells him that Kairi's heart is more than likely lost the to Heartless forever. But Riku doesn't care, he says he'll do anything to find it again. When Sora, Donald, Goofy and Peter Pan escape, Hook orders Wendy be brought to him. They bring Kairi up as well, and Sora and his party chase after the pirates. However Riku is already leaving through a darkness portal with Kairi, using Anti-Sora as a distraction. He returns with Kairi to Hallow Bastion.

Riku manages to kidnap Belle, however the Beast managed to follow them. He'd brought the princess there simply with the darkness portal. Using so much darkness, is starting to take a toll on Riku. Maleficent warns him again about the danger the darkness poses to his heart. Though she also tells him that there is a well of untapped power within him. She tells him to awaken that power so that he can realize his full potential. He goes to confront Beast and asks him how he got there. The Beast says that he merely believed he would find Belle again after their world was taken by the darkness. Riku fights the Beast and beats him just as Sora and his friends show up. He tells Sora that he's been waiting, and that they are rivals. There can't be two Keyblade masters so, Riku says to let the Keyblade choose. He takes the Keyblade from Sora, thinking that Maleficent was right when she told him that he was the only one who could save Kairi and open the door to Kingdom Hearts. Riku calls Sora the Keyblade delivery boy and tosses him the wooden sword that they'd played with back on the islands. He leaves Sora, and Donald and Goofy follow him and the Keyblade. Later, Riku tells Sora to quit while he still can. But Sora won't give up on Kairi. Riku gets a new evil outfit, complete with beltage and skirt and tells Sora that the darkness will destroy him. But Sora tells him that his heart will stay with his friends, even if his body is destroyed. Riku tries to attack Sora, but Goofy protects him, as does Donald. He asks Sora how he plans to fight without a weapon, and Sora tells him that he'll fight with his heart. He also tells Riku that his friends are his power, and the Keyblade goes back to Sora. They fight and Sora manages to beat Riku. But Riku isn't about to give up. A cloaked figure appears and tells Riku that the stronger, truer heart will win the Keyblade. The figure tells him that at that moment, Riku's heart was weaker than Sora's, which is why Sora was able to get the Keyblade back. But there is a way for Riku to become stronger. If Riku gives into the darkness, then his heart will grow stronger. The cloaked figure tells him how to open his heart to the darkness and Riku gets another power up. By opening his heart to the darkness, the cloaked figure, Ansem is able to enter Riku's heart as well. Rikusem returns to the chamber where Maleficent is keeping the Princesses of Heart and sees that she's managed to open the keyhole to the darkness. He warns Maleficent that if it is unlocked that the Heartless will overrun Hallow Bastion as well. Maleficent isn't worried, claiming that the darkness has no power over her. At this point, Rikusem reveals his new Keyblade, the Keyblade of People's Hearts. But the Keyhole won't unlock. Since Kairi's heart is gone, she cannot release her power. Luckily the Keyblade derp and friends show up, and Maleficent goes off to deal with them, telling Rikusem to guard the Princesses. When Maleficent returns from her near defeat with the Keyblade derp and friends on her heals, Rikusem is waiting. He tells them that his new Keyblade can unlock people's hearts and shows them how with Maleficent, turning her into a dragon. Once the dragon Maleficent is defeated, Rikusem discovers that Maleficent was being used by the Heartless. She hadn't noticed the darkness that was eating away at her heart. Rikusem leaves Sora and his friends, going back to where the Princesses of Heart are being kept to wait for them. Its at this point that Sora realizes that Rikusem isn't really Riku. He tells Sora that Kairi is a Princess of Heart, but without her heart she cannot wake up, and she cannot complete the keyhole. Sora begs the person who has taken over Riku to give Riku back. But Rikusem knows that Kairi's heart rests within Sora and he intends to take it back. Sora asks who he is, and he replies that he is Ansem the Seeker of Darkness. When Donald tries to attack him, Donald is swatted away, giving him a clear shot at attempting to take Kairi's heart from Sora. Kairi snaps Sora out of his daze just in time for Sora to fight back. He beats Rikusem. But they can't lock the world since the keyhole isn't finished yet. They have to wake up Kairi first. So Sora takes the Keyblade that Rikusem dropped and releases Kairi's heart from within him. However it also unlocks his own heart.

Being defeated by Sora, gave Ansem the foothold he needed to fully take over Riku's body, and he moves to dispose of Kairi, Donald and Goofy since the keyhole is now complete. However Riku starts to fight back within his heart, not willing to let Ansem hurt them. He tells Kairi, Donald and Goofy to run from the Heartless.

Ansem retreats to The End of Worlds. Sora, Donald and Goofy find a door from The End of Worlds to Destiny Islands. There they find Rikusem as the world slowly collapses into the darkness. Using Riku's body again, Ansem taunts Sora before changing back to his own body, telling Sora that Riku's heart has been banished to the darkness. Sora fights Ansem, then the island begins to completely fall apart. So, Ansem sends some Heartless minions to play with Sora, who whacks them into the ground eventually. Once he runs out of convenient minions though, and the the world has collapsed, Keyblade derp and friends find themselves in the Heart of All Worlds, Kingdom Hearts. Ansem says that everything in Kingdom Hearts is engulfed in darkness. As Sora falls through space, Riku's voice lifts Sora up to battle against Ansem...now attached to a giant Heartless. After a string of battles, Sora finally, finally defeats Ansem. After he's been defeated, Ansem says that the Keyblade alone cannot seal the door to darkness. He asks Kingdom Hearts to fill him with the power of darkness, but Kingdom Hearts is light and it destroys Ansem. Sora, Donald and Goofy try to push the doors of Kingdom Hearts closed, but they aren't strong enough. Riku appears on the other side and begins to pull it closed. Then out of the mass of Heartless, King Mickey appears and tells Sora that they can close the door together, trapping Riku and King Mickey in the realm of Darkness. Riku tells Sora to take care of Kairi then Sora and King Mickey seal the door from both sides.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories - Riku woke up in the place between light and darkness, with King Mickey no where in sight. Ansem's voice told him that he'd drifted there alone. And that he couldn't overcome the darkness because perhaps he was too close to it. Ansem encourages him to go back to sleep and be safe in the darkness. However, Ansem also shows him another path; the path to find the truth. He lets Riku know that if he wants to find out the truth that he cannot return to his sleep to escape the pain it will cause him. Riku doesn't care however and takes the card he's offered saying, "This seemed like a boring place to take a nap anyway."

The card took him to the 12th basement floor of Castle Oblivion. As he entered the door in front of him, he entered his memory of Hallow Bastion. Riku asks Ansem's voice if he's going to learn something or meet anyone, but the voice only says that normally you would meet other people in your memories before it trails off and doesn't answer Riku's further questioning.

After fighting his way through the various rooms and areas of Hallow Bastion, Riku finally comes across the room he'd stayed in while working for Maleficent. Everything looked just as he remembered. Ansem's voice returned at this point, saying how nice it must be to have all those memories, to which Riku responds that he'd rather be without them. Ansem teases him some more, before Riku runs out of the room to work his way farther into Hallow Bastion. No matter where he goes however, there is no sign of the people from his memories anywhere. He demands that the voice tell him where they are. Ansem tells him that he cast all of those people aside in the pursuit of darkness and to see beyond their tiny world. Riku says that he cast the darkness away though too. But Ansem's reply is that Riku's heart can only cast things away. That he is empty, except for some residual darkness, which is why he can't meet anyone in his memories now. Eventually Riku comes across Maleficent, who reveals that Riku can only see 'those who exist in the same darkness' that he does. She continues that Riku wants her there to fill the emptiness in his heart. Riku tells her that while he did want to be around her at one time, he wants nothing to do with her or her darkness. All being with her did to him was to lose himself to the darkness and empty himself. He declares that if he's stuck seeing only those with darkness in their hearts, then he'll take them out one by one. Maleficent tells him that he'll then have to remember to get rid of himself last. Riku has no problems with this as he turned to the darkness because he was weak. He tells her that he hates himself for that weakness. Maleficent tells him how unfortunate it is that he hates himself and the darkness and tells him that she can put him out of his misery. Riku ends up defeating his memory of Maleficent and continues onward into the castle.

Upon leaving his memory of Hallow Bastion, Ansem asks Riku why he shuns the darkness. When Riku retorts that Ansem has already heard what he has to say about the subject, Ansem tells him that Darkness is his weapon and he should learn to accept that. Ansem reveals himself, telling Riku he has no choice but to accept the darkness if Riku's going to serve him again. Riku however knows that Ansem just wants him back so that he can be a puppet again and tries to attack Ansem head on. Ansem easily deflects him, mocking him by saying that Riku couldn't even beat Sora with the help of the darkness, so how could he possibly  hope to defeat him? He continues to tell Riku that the darkness will give him all the strength he needs. But King Mickey interrupts and tells Riku that the light will never give up on him. With new confidence, Riku gets back up to face Ansem again. After a short brawl, Ansem ends the fight and then offers Riku a set of world cards. If Riku makes it through the next world created from his memories without using the darkness stirring within him, Riku will see it as a victory. Ansem however tempers the darkness within his heart which results in Riku gaining access to some of the skills and attacks he'd used when he'd given into the darkness.

As Riku continues on, he pauses smelling the darkness that has seeped into his skin. (No I am not joking...he SMELLS the fricking darkness!) King Mickey appears in front of him, transparent since he can only send some of his power into the castle, and tells Riku not to let go of who he is, even though he still has some darkness inside of him. He needs to fight that remaining darkness, even though it won't be easy. King Mickey also reminds Riku that even in the darkest darkness, there is always a little bit of light. If Riku follows the light of Kingdom Hearts, it will show him the way out of the darkness. King Mickey says that he'll keep trying to get into the castle. He also reminds Riku that their hearts are connected before he disappears.

Agrabah (11th Floor) - Fights Genie!Jafar. (Since Riku can't see anyone but those aligned with darkness in his memories, he fights some heartless, fights the boss, and then there is a cut-scene or two in-between levels. Its really boring.)

Unbeknownst to Riku, Zexion, Lexaeus, and Vexen have realized he is now in the castle. While Marluxia is more interested in Sora who has also arrived, Vexen thinks that Riku 'the hero of darkness' is the more interesting of the two.

Monstro (10th Floor) - Fights Parasite Cage.

After finishing Monstro, Riku comes back into the castle, now on  his way to the 9th basement floor, and meets Vexen. Riku asks if Vexen is with Ansem. And Vexen tells Riku that he's not of the light or dark, but the twilight between. Riku decides to fight Vexen since he does have some darkness in him and proceeds to beat him. However, Vexen is merely amused by the darkness still growing within him. From the data Vexen collected from this fight he's able to create a replica of Riku.

Neverland (9th Floor) - Fights Captain Hook.

Traverse Town (8th Floor) - Fights Guard Armor.

Leaving his memory of Traverse Town, Riku comes to the room between the 7th and 8th basement levels only to find himself staring back at him. Repliku tells Riku that he's an exact copy of Riku, to which Riku calls him a fake. Repliku states that there are exactly the same, except that he is not afraid of anything, and he embraces the darkness. They fight with the original Riku coming out on top, but Repliku says he'll get stronger. Riku tries to attack him again, but Repliku's darkness throws Riku back, allowing him the chance to escape.

Repliku returns to Vexen, Zexion and Lexaeus and Vexen asks him if he'd like to pay Sora a visit, to which he agrees.

Riku tries to chase after Repliku, calling for the fake to show himself. Ansem shows back up, telling Riku that he should be like Repliku and accept the darkness. He tells Riku that he fights the darkness because he is afraid of it and Riku tries to attack him again. Ansem gives him another set of world cards before disappearing.

Atlantica (7th Floor) - Fights Ursula.

Vexen, Zexion and Lexaeus go up to meet with Larxene and Axel and offers to let them use Repliku against Sora. Axel gives Vexen the memory card for Destiny Islands and Repliku asks why a card is so special. Larxene tells him that with some help from Namine, Repliku can have all the real Riku's memories and even forget that he's nothing but a fake. They can remake his heart so that he'll be exactly the same as the real Riku. Repliku however doesn't want to be 'a wimp who's afraid of the dark'. Vexen agrees to let them change Repliku, and Repliku attempts to attack Larxene. She easily dispatches him, before advancing on him as he tries to back away.

Olympus Coliseum (6th Floor) - Fights Hades.

After Repliku's heart has been changed, he tells Namine that he will make whatever is hurting her go away and swears on the good luck charm she had given him. But Namine had replaced Kairi with herself, just like she had in Sora's memories.

Wonderland (5th Floor) - Fights Trickster.

Zexion notices that Vexen's scent has disappeared. Lexaeus appears and confirms that Axel had killed him. Lexaeus says that Sora is their problem but they cannot eliminate him. So they decide that they need to somehow get Riku.

Before using the last of the world memory cards, Riku wonders if he makes it through this world he'll be free of the darkness.

Halloween Town (4th Floor) - Fights Oogie Boogie.

Waiting for him between the 3rd and 4th floors is Lexaeus. By his smell, Riku can tell that he's another of the 'Nobodies'. Lexaeus tells him that he's done well, but that Riku has much more power than he's using because he's afraid to use and learn to control his darkness. He tells Riku that he needs to let the darkness into his heart before attacking him. Riku manages to defeat him, but fails to land a finishing blow. Lexaeus swats him away and approaches him. However Riku is enveloped in darkness and finishes off Lexaeus. Ansem's Heartless had taken over Riku's body, trapping Riku in the darkness within his own heart. By thinking about Ansem, Riku has been slowly helping him to return in order to take back Riku's heart. King Mickey's image appears again, reminding Riku to fight and he wakes up back where he fought with Lexaeus. King Mickey had protected him, using their connected hearts.

Axel goes to see Zexion to ask about his plans for Riku. With Marluxia gone there is no point in keeping Riku around. Zexion asks him about the Destiny Islands memory card before appearing before Riku and telling him that the scent that just disappeared was Marluxia, the keeper of the castle. Riku realizes that it was Sora that killed him and that his friend is also in the castle. Zexion asks him if he's willing to face Sora with the darkness and Ansem still fighting within him. He tells Riku that Sora's fate is to fight any darkness, including Riku. Then he gives Riku the memory card for Destiny Islands.

Destiny Islands (3rd Floor) - Riku uses the card and goes to into Sora's memory of the islands. He's happy to be home and even sees three of their friends. When he tries to talk to them though, they disappear in front of him. He fights his way through the heartless there until he comes upon Kairi, but she also disappears. Zexion reminds him that in his previous memory worlds he only came across dark beings and that he only has dark memories left. All his memories of the islands are gone. Riku however shouts back that he remembers everything and everyone. Zexion counters with the fact that he threw all those friends away and destroyed their home. The sky turns dark and Riku realizes that its the night he and Sora left the islands on their separate paths. By opening the door to darkness, Riku destroyed the islands and the hearts of the people trapped there. Zexion shows Riku an image of himself which turns into a Darkside and says that it is what Riku truly is. Riku defeats it and then sees Sora.

When he tries to talk to him though, Sora attacks him, even using his Keyblade's light against him. The light hurts him and sends Riku plummeting towards the light. He worries that the light will cause him to fade away. But Kairi appears and tells him that nothing can defeat him, that he can't run from the light or fear the dark because they'll both make him stronger. She also tells him that if he looks into the dark and doesn't look away, that he won't be afraid of anything anymore. He just can't give into it and accept that it is there. If he follows the darkness then he'll find his friends. At this point its revealed that Kairi is actually Namine taking on the appearance of Kairi. He asks her if he can face them, and she asks if he wants to see them. Riku replies that he does want to see them and that he'll use his strength to find them. He defeats Sora which turns out to be Zexion. Zexion doesn't understand how Riku could have escaped the light, and attacks him, this time as himself. After defeating Zexion, he tells Riku that he's still on the side of darkness. However Riku states that he knows who he is now and lands the finishing blow on Zexion.

Retreating to their hide out, Zexion meets up with Lexeaus, Axel and Repliku. He realizes they can use the replica against the real Riku. Axel tells Repliku that if he can use the power that Riku cannot, then he can become his own person. When Zexion disagrees with this plan, Repliku absorbs him.

Upon leaving Destiny Islands, Ansem again speaks to Riku and tells him that he's let in the darkness, thus giving him a grip on Riku's heart. He believes that soon, Riku's heart will become complete darkness. The more darkness in Riku's heart, the more Ansem can control him. But King Mickey interferes again, finally making his way into the castle. Riku is relieved to see King Mickey. The King had found the memory card for Twilight Town which allowed Mickey a way out of the realm of darkness and into Castle Oblivion. King Mickey believes that the card wanted to be with Riku, since he could see Riku's heart with it.

Twilight Town (2nd Floor) - As soon as Riku enters the unfamiliar town, Ansem shows up demanding that Riku fight him. But Riku knows that the Ansem before him is not the real Ansem that rests in his heart. The Ansem standing before him is really DiZ (who is the REAL Ansem...since the other Ansem is really Terra-nort...yes we're all confused) who has been guiding him through the castle and forcing Riku to face the darkness inside of him. DiZ tells Riku that he's special because he exists between light and dark. He also tells Riku that he wants him to meet Namine then choose...something...which I assume we will find out about...eventually.

After fighting his way through the town he finds himself in front of a mansion, only to have Repliku show up. Repliku can tell that Riku isn't afraid of the darkness anymore. Repliku then rants about how he's a fake even with his new powers and basically has a mental breakdown about being a fake which of course means he should get rid of the real Riku. They fight and the real Riku wins and watches Repliku melt into a puddle of darkness while he gives an existentialist monologue.

When he finishes fighting through Twilight Town he finds a white room where Namine is waiting for him. She shows him Sora encased in a lotus flower pod. She tells him that he's sleeping to get his memory back (since she kinda maybe broke him into little bitty pieces!). Sora had decided to forget about the castle in order to get his old memories back. Now Riku must chose as well, about his darkness. For the moment Ansem is being kept at bay, but eventually he'll take Riku over again. Namine has the power to lock Riku's heart so that Ansem could never again take over his heart. But Riku asks her if he agrees to that if he'll forget everything like Sora did. Namine tells him that he'll forget the darkness and become like he was before. Riku decides he'd rather fight Ansem than lock away his problems. Namine says that she's glad he chose to fight his darkness. He tells her that he knew that she was pretending to be Kairi and then asked her to take care of Sora.

Coming into the castle again, Riku finds King Mickey waiting for him. DiZ had told King Mickey that Riku had chosen not to sleep. When Riku asks if Mickey knows him, King Mickey thinks that he might know him from somewhere, but isn't sure. Riku goes up to DiZ and asks who he is. But DiZ doesn't give him a straight answer (what a surprise!). He then gives Riku one of the Organization's robes since he knows they will chase Riku relentlessly. It will render the Organization's eyes and noses useless...no I'm really serious. It will. Just don't ask why. It will also protect against darkness. Its the big zipper, huh? DiZ gives Riku a final memory card which will draw Ansem out. King Mickey wants to go with Riku, but Riku says he has to go alone. He asks the King to destroy him in case Ansem wins, but the King says he'll be there to save him in that case.

Castle Oblivion - Riku runs into the Castle Oblivion memory card and calls out Ansem. (I don't know why we needed a memory card for the castle we're already in...) He fights some heartless and then says 'I smell you Ansem! Show yourself!'. (I just don't even know anymore!) Ansem has been stalking Riku through this whole thing and has been watching him grow. He's also pissed that Riku will accept the darkness but not let Ansem take over his body. He thinks maybe some part of Riku is still afraid of the dark, but really its that Riku can't stand how bad he smells. Ansem mocks him, saying he knows all his powers, but Riku throws it back at him, saying that with Ansem's powers he couldn't even beat Sora. Another battle begins and eventually Riku wins. Which of course pisses Ansem off and he throws a darkness ball at him. Riku gives him one final whack and he dissolves into darkness, telling Riku that he's still a shadow in Riku's heart and that this is not the end. Mickey's light calls Riku out of the darkness and Mickey asks him what he's going to do. Riku says he can't go home yet cause there is still a flicker of Ansem's darkness in him. King Mickey tells Riku that he never knew that Riku's path, the one between light and dark could exist, and that he'd like to walk it with Riku. They both put on their Organization cloaks and leave the castle and run into DiZ. He asks Riku which road he will chose, the one to light or the one to dark, and Riku tells him he'll walk the one between, the one to dawn.

Sometime after all this, Riku begins to wear a blindfold so that his eyes cannot lie to him. Honestly I think it was just to make him look cooler in the black Org jacket.

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days - Riku finds one of the Organization members and thinking its Roxas, fights them. However, once he's defeated the person in black, he discovers that its really someone else. He asks her who she is and how she has a Keyblade. But she asks him why he's dressed like the Organization. Riku tells the girl that he's dressed that way to makes sure his best friend sleeps in peace. He tells her that her Keyblade is a worthless sham. And she tries to attack him again. Beating her to the ground again, he tells her to find new people to hang around with. And as he's leaving she calls out that he's the real sham, to which Riku agrees, saying he could be 'the biggest Nobody of them all'.

Around five months later, Riku finds Xion on Destiny Islands after she collapses from Sora's memories. When Xion wakes up, she asks Riku about Sora and Kairi. She tells him that she has Sora's memories. But when Xion asks where Sora is, Riku tells her that he won't tell her. Riku then tells her that she has some of Sora's memories and that he can't wake up without her. She asks if that makes him hate her, but it just makes him sad. He decides to let her take some time to figure out where she belongs, with Roxas and Axel, or with Sora. He goes to see Namine and they talk about Sora's missing memories. Namine tells him that if Sora's memories become part of Xion, then he may never wake up. Because Roxas and Xion are fighting so hard to be their own people, Sora's awakening will have to be postponed so it can be fixed. Then he goes and trolls Roxas and Axel for no apparent reason forcing them to chase him around Twilight Town. He then asks Xion if she wants to go back.

Xemnes tells Roxas a little about who Sora is after Xion tries to attack him and Axel and is then captured. Roxas then rage-quits the conversation via darkness portal.

Xion eventually goes to talk to Axel because she's worried about how worn out Roxas is getting whenever he uses his Keyblade. Axel tells her that she's just a replica of Roxas and if she's getting stronger and Roxas weaker, then she's borrowing too much power form him. Meanwhile the rest of the Organization is meeting and Xemnes tells them that they only need one of the two, so to let either Xion absorb Roxas' power, or let Roxas destroy Xion. They then set up a mission to force Xion and Roxas fight, thinking the other is a Heartless.

Because Xion doesn't want to disappear, Sora still cannot wake up. DiZ tells Riku to do what has to be done.

Xion attacks Xigbar and knocks him out, then begs Axel to let her go. She also asks him to take care of Roxas. Back at HQ Axel tells Roxas about Xion being a puppet created to duplicate his powers. Axel tells him that they have to destroy Xion, otherwise he won't be Roxas anymore. When Xion comes out of her darkness portal she's faced with Riku. He asks her if she's found the right answer and she says she has. She asks him what she needs to do and he tells her to go to Twilight Town to find Namine.

Then we see King Mickey in his Org robes walking through a forest. He comes upon another Org cloaked figure, who takes down his hood and reveals himself as Ansem. And shit you have to be kidding me!? We killed that guy! Multiple times over! Oh wait...he's putting on a blindfold...and morphing back into Riku...? Okay...um...yeah sure, we'll pretend this makes sense for now. King Mickey is happy that he doesn't have to fight Ansem again and asks Riku where he's been all this time. Riku has of course been trying to find a way to defeat the darkness inside of him until Sora wakes up. Mickey calls Riku out on looking like Ansem and he tells the King that he's getting a hang of keeping the darkness under control. Mickey asks if something went wrong since Sora hasn't woken up yet. And Riku tells him that there is a reason why the Organization had been quiet for so long. It was because they purposely made it hard for Sora's memories to be put back together. So long as they have their hands on Sora's memories of Kairi, he won't wake up. Mickey offers his help, but Riku says he can handle it, however he does ask Mickey a favor. He asks King Mickey to help Sora, Donald and Goofy in case he can't defeat Roxas, or if he only does so by giving into the darkness.

Roxas decides to rage quit the entire Organization and tells Axel that no one will miss him. But Axel would miss him and doesn't want him hurt. Meanwhile Xion has found Namine who tells her that when she's gone, no one will remember her, cause there is nothing to remember. Axel however manages to track her down. She tells him that she's decided to go back where she belongs. But Axel doesn't think its fair, he doesn't like that everyone keeps being emo and wanting to die. They fight and Axel brings her back to the Organization before collapsing. Roxas ends up going to the clock tower in Twilight Town to emo where he, Axel and Xion always hung out. Xion shows up and gives him a popsicle before telling him that she's out of time and taking off her hood to show that she now looks like Sora. She walks off the clock tower onto the air and then tries to destroy Roxas...shit we're back to this plot line. I thought we took care of that! Xion turns into a...um...armoured version of Sora? So...being part of Sora, which means you're part of Roxas who looks like Ven and is also part of Sora gives you Keyblade armour all of a sudden? Oh right we're supposed to be fighting her! She gets an armor upgrade and a couple extra arms. Oh and then she grows HUGE! Its only after all that, that Roxas finally wins. By doing so, he starts to forget her, and Xion turns to little bits of light in his arms. She asks Roxas to set free all the hearts she collected. They can't let Xemnes have Kingdom Hearts. She disappears after she tells him and he and Axel were her best friends.

Another Side, Another Story [deep dive] [Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix Secret Ending] - Roxas pissed off and now with two Keyblades, continues to go around Twilight Town killing every heartless in his path. Riku finds him at the skyscraper and they run at each other, up and down the building respectively. Roxas tosses Riku Oblivion, keeping Oathkeeper for himself. But Riku's memories of Xion make him falter as they begin to disappear. They fight the heartless back to back, then Roxas turns to Riku and asks who he is. Riku tells him that it doesn't matter, since he's there for him. He wants to get back the rest of Sora's memories. Roxas is kinda tired about hearing about Sora through, and Riku asks him if he has a plan. Roxas tells Riku that he's going to set Kingdom Hearts free, so that everything will go back to the way it was before. He just wants to have ice cream with his friends again. But Riku can't let him go off and do anything crazy. He tells Roxas that if he tries to find Kingdom Hearts the last thing he'll have is his life back. That the Organization will destroy him. Again, Roxas...gives no shits. They fight and Roxas manages to knock Riku down. Riku asks him why HE has the Keyblade (repetitive much?), and Riku uses the opening to knock him out. He gives Oblivion back and Roxas gets up, still trying to beat Riku. Riku tricks Roxas by calling him Sora, and confirms that he's Sora's Nobody. Roxas however is STILL pissed off and STILL doesn't care about Sora. Namine calls out to Riku, telling him that he has to stop Roxas and so he pulls out the big guns, ie Ansem. He takes off the blindfold and morphs back into Ansem in a column of darkness. Ansem then chokes out Roxas and waits for DiZ to show up. Rikusem tells DiZ that Roxas could feel Sora and DiZ doesn't believe that, since Nobodies cannot feel. Rikusem thinks that if he'd been able to meet Sora things could have been different. They take Roxas to DiZ's evil lair and put Roxas into a simulation of Twilight Town until Namine finishes rebuilding Sora's memories. They have to give him a new personality to hide him from the Organization, and Rikusem feels sorry for everything Roxas will have to go through, only to become part of Sora again.

Kingdom Hearts II -
Day 1: Twilight Town - Rikusem and DiZ realize that the Organization had stolen the photographs from the simulation of Twilight Town. DiZ says that Namine needs to hurry up.

Day 2: Reality Shifts - Rikusem is stalking Roxas...sigh. He's stalking Roxas and stealing his hard earned munny. Annnnnd making him look completely crazy in front of his friends. DiZ suggests that they buy some sea salt ice cream with the stolen munny.

Day 3: Misunderstandings - Namine enters the simulation of her own accord and messes with DiZ's plans.

Day 4: The Road to the Battle - Rikusem steals Roxas' portion of the trophy. Stealing Roxas' stuff is kinda becoming a habit. DiZ meanwhile is impressed by Roxas' progress. Namine meeting Roxas put him in contact with Kairi since she can toy with the hearts and memories of Sora and the ones connected to him. Rikusem asks DiZ whose Nobody Namine is, but he would rather troll everyone, so he asks Rikusem if he knows his own true name. He replies Ansem, which means that Riku and Ansem are still dueling it out for control over Riku's heart and body. Greaaaaaat.

Day 5: Twisted Reality - Rikusem confronts DiZ about showing Roxas the train and making him look crazy...again. DiZ says its cause he missed the trip to the beach. DiZ then asks Rikusem if his memory is coming back, which it is! Yay! Apparently everyone forgot Sora after the whole Chain of Memories deal. DiZ tells Rikusem that its time to get rid of Namine.

Day 6: The End of the Summer - DiZ starts talking in Roxas' head and tells him to come to the mansion. Roxas goes to the mansion, and DiZ basically tells him that since he's a Nobody, he's worthless and doesn't deserve any explanations. Rikusem is starting to get nervous about all the Nobodies sent by the Organization, so he tells DiZ to hurry it up. DiZ tries to shut Namine up who is trying to tell Roxas more about Nobodies, and eventually just pulls her with him through a darkness portal. Rikusem stops Roxas from attempting to follow them. They leave Roxas to wander through the mansion as his memories slowly return to him. Eventually, Roxas finds his way to where DiZ has created a data copy of the room where Sora is being kept. Roxas fights DiZ cause hell he's still feeling pissed off, but after he sees Sora sleeping, he realizes he has to go back and become a part of him again.

DiZ tells Riku to eliminate Namine, but instead he gives her to Axel and eventually finds King Mickey again. He asks Mickey not to tell Sora anything about him, and gives him the munny and crystal orb that he'd stolen from Roxas. He then goes off to distract the Organization and continue his fight with the darkness within him.

Much much later (as in we just jumped from cutscene #99 to #357), Axel is trying to kidnap Kairi, so he can lure out Sora, kill him and bring back Roxas. Rikusem creates a darkness portal so she can escape to Twilight Town.

Rikusem next appears again when he leaves a box with sea salt ice cream and a photo of Roxas and his friends for Sora, Donald and Goofy in the Realm of Darkness. He doesn't say anything to them, just leaves the box and darkness portals the hell out of there. The ice cream was the key to connect the Realm of Darkness to other worlds.

He then goes to the Land of Dragons to warn the Emperor about the Heartless dragon that Xigbar had created. He's mistaken for Xigbar by both Mulan and Sora, but when Sora sees him wielding Soul Eater, he begins to put together the pieces. But not ready to face Sora, Rikusem keeps running away from Sora. He has to fight Shang before he can warn the Emperor, but once his mission is complete he leaves the world.

Meanwhile, Kairi's gotten kidnapped by Axel, escaped and then gotten kidnapped by Saix and is now in the World That Never Was...sigh. Namine rescues her, only for them both to get cornered by Saix. Rikusem shows up with a new Keyblade and tries to kick some Saix ass, but he darkness portals away. He's about chase after Saix, but Kairi stops him. She lowers his hood but is able to see beyond Ansem's face to the real Riku beyond. Kairi goes off and finds Sora and tries to help him fight off the heartless. But they bog her down. Rikusem follows her and gives her one of Aqua's Keyblades so she can fight. He helps her fend off the heartless. Once the heartless are gone, Sora finds them, and again Rikusem tries to leave. Sora, thinking that its Ansem, thanks him for helping Kairi, even though he did so many bad things. Kairi stops him from leaving and reveals that he's Riku and asks Sora  to say something to him. She puts their hands together and tells Sora to close his eyes. By doing this, Sora is able to see through Ansem's form. Sora starts to cry, saying that he looked everywhere for him. He tells Sora that he didn't want him to find him. Goofy realizes that all the clues they'd found had been left by Riku. Then Sora asks him why he didn't let him know that he was okay, and Riku just repeats that he didn't want to be found, not looking like Xehanort's Heartless. He tells them that to use the power of darkness, he had to become Ansem. When Kairi asks if he can ever change back, he tells her that the battle isn't over, and until it is, he needs the power of darkness.

King Mickey and DiZ...we mean Ansem...the Wise...the REAL Ansem, set up a heart laser thingy and point it at the fake Kingdom Hearts the Organization has been creating. Sora and his gang, plus Kairi and Rikusem see it from where they are in the Organization's castle and hurry to join them. They're stopped by Luxord though and another fight ensues. Sora wins and defeats Luxord and they continue onwards. They all make it to the room where Saix is hanging out, and Kairi and Rikusem get pushed out of the battle area. So, Sora, Donald and Goofy fight and beat him. Sora then asks Rikusem why everyone in the Organization has been calling him Roxas this entire time. Rikusem tells him that Roxas is Sora's Nobody. Xemnes had found Roxas and since he was Sora's Nobody, he could use the Keyblade. Which is why Xemnes brought him to the Organization, but then Roxas betrayed them. Then he fought Roxas to help Sora wake up, but he lost, the second time he won though. Rikusem realizes that he may not have had to fight Roxas at all and thinks he left the Organization because he wanted to meet Sora. Sora says that he wishes he could have met Roxas too. At which point Rikusem points to Sora's chest, indicating that Roxas is inside him...so he kinda already has?

When they reach Ansem the Wise and King Mickey, Ansem tells them to leave as his machine is starting to overload as it tries to destroy the fake Kingdom Hearts. Xemnes joins the party to mock everyone, most of all Ansem who he kinda usurped. Xemnes reveals that it was from Ansem's research that Mansex Xemnes/Xehanort's Heartless/Terranort=Xehanort was able to create the heartless and pretty much start all of this. Ansem disappears after his machine explodes into a wave of light, and Rikusem, holds Sora back as it does. By destroying the fake Kingdom Hearts all the collected hearts are freed. Some go to the Nobodies, while others are eaten by the heartless. As the dust clears, Sora goes over to Riku, who is finally back to normal, blindfold and all. Both Ansem and Xemnes are gone and Sora asks if Riku is going to take his blindfold off and what it was for. Mickey says that it was so his eyes couldn't lie. Sora jokes back, 'Just who were you trying to fool?' and Riku responds himself. Sora chastises him for trying to do so much on his own when he has so many friends. Riku's response is that he's not a big sap like Sora is. But they remember that they still have to defeat Xemnes and Riku finally takes off that GODDAMN COAT! And then it floats away dramatically...sigh.

The Heartless keep swarming as they make their way towards Xemnes and Maleficent and Pete show up to take care of the Heartless. Maleficent wants to keep the castle once Sora's group takes care of Xemnes and they take care of the Heartless. Xemnes is mourning the loss of his Kingdom Hearts, and commands Sora, Mickey, Riku and Kairi to bring him more hearts. They tell him to f-off. And then he asks them why they hate the darkness. But Mickey says they don't hate it, they're just a bit afraid of it. Riku says they're afraid of it because of who lurks in the darkness. Xemnes then asks why they hate the ones that linger on the edge of nothing, turned away from light and dark. Again Riku answers that its because they mess up their worlds. Sora doesn't believe his sob story, saying that Nobodies can't feel anything let alone sadness. Xemnes then transports himself and Sora to the skyscraper for a one on one fight. Sora beats him and Xemnes' body teleports away, before Sora himself is teleported back to where the others are. Xemnes has gone to to absorb the remainder of his fake Kingdom Hearts. He knows that hearts contain power, and he wants that power. Xemnes disappears in a flash of light and then the door to Kingdom Hearts appears. Riku asks Sora if he's ready for the fight ahead of them. Then Riku, Sora and King Mickey all unlock the door and the party enters to see Xemnes who starts throwing buildings at them. Kairi and King Mickey get trapped outside the door, and the remaining four fight Xemnes and everything he has to throw at them, round after round. They all get out of the Other Space and Sora tries to talk sense into Xemnes before he darkness portals away again. Riku doesn't think he can go back and face everyone since he gave into the darkness. Sora...makes a stupidly silly face at him and this makes Riku laugh. At this point everything starts to shake again and when Riku tries to open a darkness portal, he can't, since he doesn't belong to the realm of darkness anymore. Then Namine shows up and opens a portal for them, allowing Namine and Roxas to meet again. Everyone makes it through the portal except for Sora and Riku, because, guess what, Xemnes isn't dead quite yet. The platform they're on starts to collapse, so Riku steals a random glider that just happens to be there. Sora jumps on, and they follow Xemnes' armour dragon. Xemnes isn't willing to give up, saying that if light and dark are eternal, then nothing must be as well. They get to fight him again, Riku protecting Sora when Xemnes goes after him, and lends Sora his Keyblade to finish Xemnes off. He is finally destroyed, leaving them with a mass of Nobodies to destroy.

Riku collapses, but Sora tells him its not over. He helps Riku up and tells him to think more positive. Then Riku tells Sora to lead the way. He admits to Sora that he always thought he was better at things than Sora, and Sora agrees that Riku probably was. They find a light and follow it out of Oblivion to the beach in the Realm of Darkness. Riku finally says he can walk on his own and Sora goes up to the water. When he turns around he sees that Riku has collapsed again. Riku tells him that maybe they should just fade into the Realm of Darkness now that the Realm of Light is safe. There are others there to protect the light. Sora helps Riku down to the water and they sit there together. Riku tells Sora that he was jealous of the way Sora was able to live his life by his heart. And Sora tells him that he has his own problems, like wanting to be like Riku. Then Riku tells him that there is one good thing about being him that Sora can't imitate, and that's being Sora's friend. A bottle washes up and Riku opens it, pulling out a letter from Kairi. He hands it over to Sora, and after he reads it, it opens up a door to light, reaching down a hand for Riku so they can go back together. They land in the ocean back home, with Kairi waiting for them on the beach, along King Mickey, Donald and Goofy. There are lots of hugs as all the friends are reunited.

After they've been home for a while, Riku and Sora talk about how nothing about the islands have changed, and nothing will change. Sora asks him what he thinks the light was, and Riku points at Sora's chest again, saying its never as far away as you think. Then Kairi comes running up to them with a message from the King. Sora opens it, and they all read the letter together.

Kingdom Hearts: ReCoded - Jiminy Cricket becomes increasingly curious about a line in his journals chronicling his travels with the Sora gang that he did not write: "We must return to free them from their torment." In order to find out more about it, Mickey digitizes the journals and goes into the worlds it creates. He journeys with data versions of various people including Sora and Riku. Data-Sora eventually finds Data-Namine who tells him that he is the 'key that connects everything' and about Terra, Ventus and Aqua who all need his help. Mickey then says goodbye to Data-Sora and promises Data-Namine that he'll tell the real Sora about this. This really has nothing to do Riku at all, but is pertinent because of what Mickey finds out and because of the game's ending and secret ending.

Signs of What's Next [Re: Coded Secret Ending] - King Mickey meets with Master Yen Sid who tells him that by killing Ansem Seeker of Darkness (Heartless) and Xemnes (Nobody), Xehanort is now able to return. He tells Mickey to write to Sora and Riku and ask them to come to the Mysterious Tower so that he can send them to take their Master Mark Exams. If they are to face the threat of Xehanort, then they will need more than one Master to take him on. Especially if its not just Xehanort they are facing. It is also revealed that Mickey might have figured out where Ven's heart is, and since they already know where Aqua is, then all they need to do is find Terra.

Blank Points [Birth by Sleep Secret Ending] - Riku finds Sora sitting on the palm tree holding the message King Mickey had sent them. He asks if Sora has decided, and Sora says he has. Sora then tells Riku and Kairi that ‘they’ are waiting for him and he has to go help them.

Kingdom Hearts: 3D Dream Drop Distance - Sora and Riku visit Yen Sid who tells them that they need to take their 'Mark of Mastery Exam' which will make them full Keyblade Masters if they pass. Sora is confident about his abilities, but Riku wonders if it is right for him to wield a Keyblade since he has walked the path of darkness. Becoming Keyblade Masters will help them to defeat Xehanort. Yen Sid tells them that to pass the exam they will need to visit the sleeping portion of seven worlds in order to unlock the 'Keyhole of Sleep' and gain new power. If they return from that quest, they will be considered Masters. Along the way they will be helped by dream consuming creatures called Dream Eaters which will in turn lead them to the 'Key of Sleep'. Yen Sid then sets them on their mission, and Riku awakens in a strange world he's not familiar with.

Notes: While KH: 3D doesn’t come out until the 29th of this month in Japan, these trailers give enough information about the prologue of the game to pull him from the point just before he’s supposed to wake up in the sleeping Traverse Town. The links below have been fansubbed into English (just turn on the CC icon).
2012 Jump Fiesta Trailer
Special Trailer
TGS 2011 Trailer

Character Personality: Riku was always somewhat quiet and thoughtful, especially when contrasted with Sora. He always had dreams of leaving their small island world in order to find the strength to protect his friends and loved ones. However that desire for strength eventually turned into an ambition for power, and a pride and sense of superiority over Sora. This change was fueled by both Terra giving him rites as a Keyblade wielder, and by his competitiveness with Sora. He sought to better himself for himself, rather than to protect the things he cared about. This allowed him to be unafraid of the darkness offered to him by Maleficent and Ansem. Because of his child like conviction to be the strongest and to become more powerful, the darkness was able to latch onto his heart. Through all this though, he still cared deeply for his two best friends. Some part of him still remembered his original dream to protect them, and words from the rite that Terra had spoken to him. Even though the spark of his lust for power had caught, his heart was still behind his decision to seek that power.

After leaving the island, his friends, family, and everything he’s ever known, he became to feel lonely. While he was starting to gain the strength he craved, he’d lost his friends in the process and loneliness, jealousy, betrayal, and anger began to gain more and more hold over him. Maleficent only fueled these emotions by telling Riku that Sora had abandoned and replaced him. Not only that, but Sora could care less about finding Kairi, the third piece to their tight knit group. All of this urged him to give more into the darkness, allowing those negative emotions to fester and damage and weaken his heart. His sheer force of will allowed him to take the Keyblade from Sora, which before would have been an easy task for him, as only those with strong hearts can wield a Keyblade. But because he’d started to rely on the darkness, rather than the power of his own heart, it had weakened him to the point where Ansem was then able to take over his body with relative ease.

When Sora was able to defeat Xehanort’s Heartless, Riku again had control over his body, but it was at this point that his battle with the darkness truly began. Being sent to Castle Oblivion and fighting his way through his own empty memories forced Riku to suppress the darkness in his heart. While the Organization tempted him and toyed with him, he began to realize that he could be stronger without the help of the darkness. At the same time though, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to escape it completely. Especially after he’d helped doom his home and the people that lived there to being consumed by the darkness for his childish whims. With the help of King Mickey however, he was able to see that he would always have a friend, and that there would always be a light in the dark to show him the way. Some of his confidence was restored, and the darkness he had grown to fear, was now something he could attempt to control and eventually master. He didn’t decide to go to sleep and just forget his problems and everything he’d gone through, he decided to fight until he won against the portion of Xehanort that was still inside him. Upon leaving Castle Oblivion Riku decided that rather than walking a path of pure light, or pure dark, he’d walk the path of the dawn and find a balance for the light and dark within him.

After leaving the castle, Riku did his best to keep Ansem in check. He began wearing a blindfold so that his eyes could not lie to him and so he would learn to rely on his heart to guide him. When DiZ asked him to track down Roxas so that Sora would be able to wake up again, Riku willingly went to track the Nobody down. Riku was willing to do anything to help his friend, even if it meant giving into the darkness to do so. When he met Xion, the Organization’s construct, however he realized that he probably would have to give into the darkness to defeat Roxas. He also began to question DiZ’s ideals about the place and rights of a Nobody or construct. When faced with his own replica, he’d been angry that the fake would think it could be anything but just that. Let alone a real person. But when he realized that Xion and Roxas had feelings and memories of their own, he couldn’t force himself to just destroy them. He gave them both the choice to do the right thing and go back to Sora so that he could wake up and go back to his friends and family. In the end Xion realized with help from Riku that giving Sora back his memories was the right thing. But Roxas still wanted answers to his questions, and a reason why he couldn’t exist just like anyone else. When Riku fought Roxas, the Nobody’s rage and anger was too much for Riku and he was forced to give into the darkness in his heart to defeat him. By doing this, Riku also started to lose track of his own heart, especially as his memories of Sora faded because of Namine’s efforts to rebuild them. He became Ansem again, but with Riku’s remorse and regrets.

Calling himself Ansem, Riku worked behind the scenes at DiZ’s direction to keep Roxas safe until it was time for Sora to wake up again. But he’d seen DiZ’s hate for the Nobodies and wondered if it was right for them to hate them simply because they weren’t complete people. He’d given into the darkness, but Sora and the King had still seen through that to the person he really was. The Nobodies, even without feelings and emotions had memories of once being human. His desire to help Sora out weighed his caring for Roxas, even though he pitied the boy, and still urged him to once again become part of Sora. When DiZ told him to dispose of Namine though, Riku put his foot down and secretly took her to Axel for safe keeping.

After Sora’s awakening, Riku found King Mickey and asked him not to tell Sora where he was, or what he had become. Riku was ashamed that he’d given into the darkness again, and was content to help his friends from the shadows to repent for what he’d done. Even after Mickey had helped him in Castle Oblivion, Riku believed his current condition to be hopeless. He simply hoped that by helping his friends from afar, they would be able to succeed. Even after Kairi and then Sora saw beyond Ansem’s face to his own, he was still ashamed of what he’d become. Though Sora’s optimism, and seeing his friends again after so long began to help him heal. When Ansem the Wise’s machine exploded the wave of light it created destroyed what was left of Xehanort’s Heartless inside of Riku. This striped Ansem’s appearance from him, and gave him some much needed confidence. Sora’s encouragement and determination also helped Riku to see that if he could overcome his darkness, then he could be forgiven by everyone. He’d worked hard so that he could become more like his old self, and deep down, he’d never lost his original dream. In fact, he’d accomplished it. Together with Sora, he’d been able to protect the Realm of Light and everyone he cared about. He also now knew that he didn’t have to do everything alone. He had friends he could rely on for help and support through whatever trials may lay before him. This transformed him from someone who had been trying to isolate himself, to someone surrounded by the smiles of his friends and family. He didn’t need to fade away to protect people, but he didn’t need to hurt others to do it either.

While he took great strides in regaining his former confidence, Riku still feels the need to prove the strength of his heart to himself, as well as those around him. He still feels the need to atone for the things he did while he was consumed by darkness. But he knows that he’ll have help to do it. Riku is fairly reserved even now, but follows what his heart tells him to do. And greatly believes in letting others do what their hearts tell them is right, even if he doesn’t fully agree with their choices. He is forgiving to a certain degree, but by no means a pushover, and does not take lightly anyone who harms the things he cares about. Riku will fight fiercely for his friends and will let his anger show in those cases. Generally though he has a serious nature, but he still has a sense of humor and will laugh easily at Sora’s antics. Even if he does sometimes get frustrated with some of the things Sora does. Riku wouldn’t outright say that though, unless its to tease him, which he likes to do relentlessly. He is also finally comfortable with both the light and darkness in his heart, knowing that if he keeps true to his beliefs he won’t stray again. Overall, Riku is fairly easy to get along with, and still gives off that cool air. It can make him seem unapproachable though, since he’s not bubbly and overly friendly like Sora is, or outwardly kind like Kairi is. Underneath Riku is a sweet, truly nice guy, it just takes some time to see it.

Digimon Personality: Mugen is the typical hardcore Japanese gamer geek. He equates real life events to quests and boss battles and really wishes the damn God tree would accidentally pull some Chocobos or Grunties into the Digital World. While he tends to live life a little outside of reality, he’s very enthusiastic about games and will show any willing, or unwilling person his sizable collection and insist that they at least TRY playing five minutes of Disgaea. He can be very insistent, to the point of being annoying. And he is not very understanding to those who don’t understand his jokes and ‘clever’ references. Mugen is also the overly dramatic type. He gets overly worked up over plot twists, his systems dying, and other little things. He’s loud, generally obnoxious, thinks he’s better than most at pretty much every game out there. And he’s partially right about it. He is a pretty good at RPGs and most fighting games.

He’s a huge video game otaku, and doesn’t like people who say they’re stupid or pointless. But even with all his faults he isn’t a completely horrible guy. He’s nice to his friends and family, and even if he’s skeptical of noobs, he’ll eventually give them a chance. After all, everyone is a noob at one point. Mugen doesn’t really understand people who don’t catch onto life in the Digital World quickly, and while he’ll tolerate derps to some extent, he doesn’t particularly like them. Though as much as he tries to act like the ‘cool guy’ he’s really just a big dork.

His best friends are his brother Finn and their cousin Iwa and they have both come to understand and tolerate his weirdness. He’s managed to wrangle Finn into his video game playing and Iwa into his slightly smaller anime obsession. Because of this, they understand him when he goes off on his otaku rants. They’ve also learned how to calm him down from his dramatic hysterics. Mugen’s very grateful that they put up with him, since there are very few digimon and tamers that he gets along with. Then again, he’s rather rude to most other digimon and tamers.  When it comes to fighting, Mugen doesn’t care much for actual fighting, preferring his games to the real thing. If he does have to fight though, he treats it like a video game battle and uses every bad joke and taunt in the book. He gets very frustrated if someone doesn’t seem amused by them though.

Character Abilities: Abilities

Sample RP: When they arrived at Yen Sid’s tower, Riku and Sora were reunited with King Mickey, Donald and Goofy. Yen Sid explained to them that since they had defeated Xehanort’s Heartless, as well as his Nobody, Xemnes, that Master Xehanort himself would surely be back. In order to defeat him, both Sora and Riku would need to become Keyblade Masters. While Sora was confident in his ability to pass the Master Mark Exam, Riku wasn’t as sure of his own. He’d let darkness into his heart, and while the exam would prove to everyone that he was a Master, he needed to pass it much more for himself. To prove to himself, that he wouldn’t ever let the darkness take him over again.

Yen Sid continued to explain what their task would be, telling them about the sleeping portions of worlds, the Dream Eaters, and the dangers of the task before them. Knowing that as Keyblade wielders it was their duty to protect the Realm of Light from threats like Xehanort, they both agreed.

Riku closed his eyes, and when he opened them again he was standing in an alleyway. The building around him looked like any you could find in Twilight Town or Traverse Town, but this place didn’t look like anywhere he’d been. Could this be one of the worlds he and Sora were supposed to visit? As the shock of being in a new place began to wear off, he looked around, noticing that his clothes were different. There was also no sign of Sora anywhere. He ran out of the alley, looking around in the street before him. “Sooooora!? Sooooora!” Some of the people on the street glanced at him before moving on with their lives. Was it possible that Sora had been sent to another world? He shook his head, there was no time to think like that. He had to find Sora, then they would both find the Key of Sleep together.

Starting down the street, he kept his eyes open for any sign of the brown spiky hair of his friend, growing more and more worried by the minute. It was starting to get dark, which would make it harder to look for Sora. After over an hour of searching the city, Riku felt like he hadn’t gotten anywhere. He leaned against a railing overlooking a river and looked down at the water. The last time he’d been near a large body of water he had been with Sora. As he looked down at the water he could feel someone watching him and glanced out of the corner of his eye. Whatever it was, was hovering a few feet away from him, and moving closer. More than likely it was one of the Dream Eaters Master Yen Sid had told them about. Though he still had no idea if it was one of the Spirits that could help him, or the Nightmares that would harm him. Summoning his Keyblade, Riku spun around and pointed the wingblade at it.

The bat-like creature let out a squeak and flapped backwards a few paces. “Oi! Hold it just a micron! No need to point that at me!”

It was Riku’s turn to be surprised and he lowered his Keyblade slightly, “...you just...talked!?”

“Oh boy, you’re gonna be a difficult one. Geez...yeah I can talk. Mind puttin’ that down? I mean what is it? Some kinda gunblade?”

“What...?”

“No one plays the classics anymore! Nevermind, just put down the pointy thing and stop freaking out.”

After a moment of hesitation, Riku lowered his Keyblade to his side, but didn’t make it disappear just yet. Maybe he was dreaming? That would explain why he had no idea what was going on.

The bat creature let out a relieved breath, “That’s much better, now isn’t it? The name’s Mugen, and I’m your partner while you’re here.”

“Partner?” Riku asked skeptically, “So you are a Dream Eater then?” The bat creature wasn’t what he’d expected.

“Pft, no! I’m a digimon! Dream Eater? Geez, where do creators come up with names like that?”

The silver haired boy just stared at him.

“Uh...nevermind again I guess. We digimon live here in the Digital World. And we’re partners to Tamers who come here from other worlds.”

Finally letting his Keyblade disappear, Riku crossed his arms, thinking, “Digital World? So does that mean I’m inside a world like the one DiZ created for Roxas?”

“I’ve got no clue, I just know that I’m stuck with you bud.”

“...alright, maybe you can help me find my friend then?” Riku asked. If they were supposed to be partners, there was no sense in not working together. At least the bat creature didn’t seem to want to hurt him, Dream Eater or not.

“Maybe. Not everyone comes here though, you know? I mean, some Tamers get their friends and stuff, but not everyone. So they may not be here.”

“I still have to look for him.”

Mugen sighed, “Okay, okay. Best way to look for someone is to post to the network.”

“The network...”

“Yup, I’ll show you! Reach in your pocket, there should be a DComm in there.”

Reaching into his pocket, Riku suddenly realized a weight that hadn’t been there before. He pulled out the slim device and turned it over in his hands. He’d never seen anything like it before.

Sample D-Comm Network Post: [The camera shifts and finally settles on a silver haired boy standing on a dark Neon City street. He looks slightly nervous and he clears his throat, looking off camera at someone.]

Well, go on!

[The teen nods, looking back at the camera.]

My name is Riku...I’m looking for my friend Sora. He’s my age, with brown spiky hair and blue eyes. About...

[He raises a hand to his shoulder.]

...this tall, and he almost always has a smile on his face. Sora...if you’re here, contact me, okay?

[The camera moves, showing the ground and there’s some indistinct talking before the video ends.]