Riku: Difference between revisions

During Sora and [[Aladdin]]'s fight with [[Jafar]] in [[Agrabah]], Riku takes [[Jasmine]] to Hollow Bastion under Maleficent's orders. Maleficent reveals the whereabouts of Kairi's body. She claims that the only way to save Kairi, who appears to have lost her [[heart]] to the darkness, is to gain access to [[Kingdom Hearts]].

[[Game:Riku|Riku]], declaring himself to be Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness, confronts Sora in the Grand Hall and reveals that Sora has Kairi's heart in his body. While Donald and Goofy look on, Riku and Sora clash again, with Ansem's presence amplifying Riku's dark powers. He fades away when he is defeated, but after Sora impales himself with the Keyblade to release Kairi's heart and disappears, Ansem reveals himself and attacks Kairi, Donald, and Goofy. Riku uses the last of his strength to hold back his possessor, and yells to the others to run. This leads to an internal struggle between the two that Riku ultimately loses; Riku's heart is sent to the [[Realm of Darkness]]{{Storylink|Kingdom Hearts Final Mix}} while Ansem takes complete control.

The overwhelming light of Kingdom Hearts envelops and destroys Ansem, allowing Riku to take back his body. He is restored in the Realm of Darkness, but is quickly targeted by a massive swarm of Heartless. Fortunately, Aqua and Mickey spot him, and Aqua uses her Keyblade to restrain the Heartless, unobserved by the boy, allowing Mickey and Riku to escape.{{storylink|Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-}}

Riku sinks into the light as he begins to fade, but [[Naminé]] appears in the form of Kairi and tells him that he can't fade, because light can't destroy him, and neither can darkness, so he should accept both to drive away his fears. He awakens his dark powers again, admitting that it's a part of him and not evil, defeating Zexion. Zexion disappears, but is quickly eliminated by the Riku Replica with Axel.

Upon learning that the Organization had kidnapped Kairi to force Sora to slay Heartless for them, Riku heads to the [[Castle That Never Was]] and protects Naminé and Kairi from [[Saïx]] after Naminé has freed Kairi from her prison. To Kairi's surprise, Naminé calls Riku by name, and disappears. Though Riku attempts to depart when Saïx escapes, he is stopped by Kairi and Pluto. Kairi, excited to see Riku, removes his hood, but is met with the face of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. Though Riku felt ashamed to be seen in the form of their old enemy, Kairi took it in stride, as she could see the real Riku beneath the façade.

Near the top, Riku reunites with King Mickey and DiZ, who reveals himself to actually be Ansem the Wise. Ansem is using a machine to try and encode Kingdom Hearts into data, but Xemnas confronts him, and they trade bitter words. The machine then explodes, unable to handle Kingdom Hearts, sending Ansem the Wise to the Realm of Darkness while causing countless hearts Xemnas had collected into Kingdom Hearts to rain down on the world, creating a slew of Heartless. The explosion also cleanses Riku's heart and restores Riku to his original form, though he is still remorseful. After some encouragement, Riku traverses the rest of the castle alongside Sora, abandoning his cloak and blindfold. He and the others also encounter Maleficent and [[Pete]], who decide to hold off the hordes of Heartless that are overtaking the castle, but only so that they will eventually take the castle for their own.

After the Dataspace simulation finishes, King Mickey goes to talk to Yen Sid, who advises him to summon Sora and Riku for a [[Mark of Mastery exam]]. Mickey writes a letter to Sora, Riku, and Kairi, which he sends in a bottle to Destiny Islands.{{storylink|Blank Points}} As they sit on the beach, Sora and Riku watch the waves and comment that Destiny Islands is a small world, but also part of a much bigger one, then jump to discussion about the Door to the Light. Kairi then appears with [[Mickey's letter]], which the trio reads together.{{storylink|Kingdom Hearts II}}

However, once all the seven [[Sleeping Keyhole]]s in the Dreaming Realm are sealed, Sora ends up trapped in sleep in The World that Never Was, and Riku rushes to his rescue upon realizing this. He finds Sora in a comatose state inside the Castle, his heart having been damaged by Xemnas and the young man himself. The young man turns out to be an incarnation of Master Xehanort in his youth, who has been traveling to different periods in time to recruit several other incarnations of Xehanort together. Riku attempts to awaken Sora, but the darkness from Sora's nightmare turns into the [[Anti Black Coat]] that engages Riku. Riku manages to defeat the Anti Black Coat and carries on through the castle, eventually coming face to face with Ansem. Ansem reveals that Riku is actually a [[Dream Eater]], and, over the course of the exam, has been purifying Sora's dreams of [[Nightmare]]s. Ansem attempts to take over Riku's body again, but remembering his secret encounter with Terra, Riku resolves to make his inner darkness his own power for good and make Ansem become part of his light. Then the two battle each other once more. Ultimately, Riku prevails and eventually makes his way to Where Nothing Gathers, where he finds Sora on an Organization XIII throne. [[Young Xehanort]] blocks Riku's way, but Mickey comes to Riku's aid by casting a [[Stopza]] spell. Young Xehanort, however, is unaffected by the spell and knocks Mickey aside to battle Riku. After a fierce struggle, Riku defeats Young Xehanort. However, the victory is short-lived, as Master Xehanort is finally revived and joined by the rest of his new Organization, among them are Young Xehanort, Ansem, and Xemnas.

Master Xehanort fills Riku and Mickey in on his past attempt to create the [[χ-blade]] by pitting Ventus and [[Vanitas]] against each other. The plan failed, but he had a backup: Master Xehanort had Young Xehanort create the [[real Organization XIII]] made of Master Xehanort himself and twelve vessels to harbor a piece of his heart in order to create thirteen darknesses to battle seven lights and recreate the χ-blade. The thirteenth vessel was intended to be Riku but he became unfit as he built a resistance to darkness. The Organization then sought to use Roxas, but he became too self-aware and returned to Sora, so now Sora has been chosen to be the last vessel. Riku and Mickey attempt to save Sora from Master Xehanort but are restrained by Ansem and Xemnas before [[Lea]] arrives and saves Sora. Ansem summons his Guardian, who grabs Riku and Mickey, but the Guardian is defeated by Donald and Goofy, who arrive via Mickey's old [[Star Shard]]. His plans temporarily derailed, Master Xehanort retreats with his Organization.

At the Mysterious Tower, Riku and Mickey are instructed by Yen Sid to search for Aqua in the worlds she had visited. After receiving the [[Braveheart]] from Merlin, Riku travels with Mickey to [[Radiant Garden]], the last place Aqua visited. They discuss Xehanort's plans, realizing that when Aqua saved Terra, he was possessed by Xehanort. After meeting [[Ienzo]] and discussing the replica project, Riku concludes the Organization is planning to use replicas due to [[Even]]'s disappearance.

This time, they are rescued by the [[Lingering Will]], allowing Riku and the others to fight off the incoming Heartless while Sora, Donald, and Goofy defeat the Demon Tide. Finally, they advance to face the Organization within the Skein of Severance. Riku battles [[Dark Riku]], [[Xigbar]], and Ansem alone. When Sora joins the battle, Ansem leaves. Upon Dark Riku's defeat, the Riku Replica reveals Dark Riku is his past self and removes Dark Riku's heart from his body, leaving the vessel behind for Naminé. After Xigbar's defeat, Sora leaves to assist the other guardians, and Demyx arrives to retrieve Dark Riku's vessel on Ienzo's orders while Riku tells him to handle it with great care.  

With one key left to forge, Xehanort reveals the kidnapped Kairi and slays her in front of them. Riku and Mickey are then frozen by a Stopza spell, and Xehanort summons Kingdom Hearts. The other guardians arrive as the spell wears off, and Riku presents the idea of using Xehanort as a portal and trapping him in it long enough to finish him. When Sora, Donald, and Goofy go to fight Xehanort, Riku joins the other Keyblade Wielders in holding off the power of Kingdom Hearts.