The Secret D Reports

The Secret D Reports

Riku’s eyes opened after a flinch.  The early sunrise seemed unusually bright, and the dew that had settled on the grass left him feeling cold.  He stood and tried to wipe the water off his black coat with little avail.  

The dream he had was disconcerting, and his heart still felt wrenched inside from it.  Darkness…  Platforms…  Glass…

And him.

Wiping it from his hair, he looked to the still-asleep king, who was curled up on a small grassy mound.  Riku crouched down to his level.  “Your majesty…  Mickey?” he corrected himself.

He stirred enough that Riku knew he would wake in a minute, and the youth stood again to head to the nearby stream.  It was nice to have the water flowing by the road since it made thirst easy to ward off.  

The sun had barely peeked over the horizon, but Riku found himself shading his eyes when he knelt by the slow-moving stream. “I must be tired still.”

Afterall, the previous night had been a difficult battle with a large Heartless.  It seemed ironic using the power of darkness against the Heartless, but it worked about as well as anything.  Last night he had stared deeper into the darkness than ever before, save his previous encounter with Ansem, perhaps.  

Few people ever have a pleasant taste in their mouths in the mornings, but to Riku it seemed especially foul.  He cupped his hands in the water, hoping to remove the taste when he paused and stared.

He barely noticed the steps behind him, or the face of the king looking up at him.

“Riku?” came a worried voice.

The white-haired youth stared in horror at his reflection, which stared back with orange eyes.


.     .     .



Secret D Report 1

Without one’s memories, who can a person be?

It is my theory that memories are closely connected with light and darkness.  To erase one’s memories completely would, hypothetically, cause the heart to collapse and result in the formation of a Heartless and the Nobody.  By contrast, Nobodies remember more with head than heart, since they are lacking the latter.  Of course, in the unusual case that a Nobody already exists, as has been seen with Sora, it seems that instead a puppet may result if memories are erased.

Although, one should note that even with altered memories, Sora still had the same basic underlying personality, but his drives were more intense, resulting in more rash acts.

But that is a different matter, and perhaps something better known to the now unreachable Namine and the fallen Marluxia.



Secret D Report 2

I believe one’s memories are the support for the heart.  

A chain.

Without them the heart would collapse.  Attempts to meddle with the darkness of the heart, especially extracting it, result in the same.  This is surely because memories exist in the easily-remembered light as well as the forgotten darkness.  With no darkness, forgotten memories have nowhere to exist, causing chaos within the heart.

There are always the exceptions to the rule, of course, and there are seven in this case.  Of course, the Princesses, never having had darkness in their hearts, would have naturally placed all memories in the light, where it is more a matter of finding the memory amongst a clutter of others instead of losing it in the darkness.

This is why links must be inserted to replace memories, or else the support may fail if not done properly.  This is also why at least one link must remain, as it would provide at least a little support.

But what if one’s memories were not fully erased?  If a memory of a single person persisted, one may steer towards that someone.



Secret D Report 3

There is a person who is curious about the world around him and wants to find out more.  His curiosity of other worlds is actually quite profound.  In fact, his efforts are written in reports.

In appearance, the man is of young age and of fairly light skin.  His eyes are narrow, and his has a fairly muscular build for his body type.  His hair is white, or rather, silver, perhaps, and long.  White and black are two of his outfit colors.  

Interestingly, he opened the door to his world, which ultimately resulted in terrible danger to the inhabitants.  The fact that he was able to do this underscores his extraordinary talents.  

Talents perhaps best described as superhuman.

And he was willing to sacrifice his body, his very form, to achieve a goal.

And yet two different names match this description.



Secret D Report 4

Nomura himself said in reference to the third installment, "I would at least say it's an episode in the past, but.... Hmm, how should I say this?  It's in the past but you can also think it's in the future, something like that."  This sounds somewhat like time travel could be involved.

Some may say that such an idea would be cliché and easily go wrong.  Yet the ideas of “evil twin,” “clone,” “mad scientist,” “the chosen one,” “rescuing the princess,” “bodily possession,” or “amnesia,” though all overused, have been used here in refreshing, atypical ways.  Time travel has already proven possible, thanks to an inexplicable door that appeared, allowing Sora to see King Mickey before Disney Castle was even built.   It would not be surprising if that door returned.

“Memory of Xehanort” could refer to several things.  It could be someone’s memory of Xehanort, or even “in the memory of Xehanort.”  More likely could be that he has a single memory.  The most obvious, however, is his lost memory.

Xehanort has no memories before Ansem the Wise found him, it is said.  He is a person with an unknown past.

Riku has been a chaotic individual in the past with a future that is still unknown.  

If Riku were a time traveler and lost his memories somehow, he would have the power of darkness, the basic personality without the knowledge NOT to succumb to darkness.  And, as a Keyblade Master, he could, and did, open a door to the heart of a world...

There is a possible other reason why we may see more of Riku.  Our world has been referred to as being made up of “earth, sea and sky.”  We are first introduced to the story of these individuals with a brief glimpse of clouds, and we see Sora grow.  In the most recent installment, we see water, and though we watch Sora, we see the strength of Kairi’s heart more than before.  This is even to the point of her being able to wield a Keyblade.  Many enthusiasts know “sora” means “sky” in Japanese, and that “kai” means sea or ocean (the –ri was added for aesthetics).  I suspect our introduction to the next chapter will begin with sliding sand and soil, since a word for “land” in Japanese is “riku.”



Secret D Report 5

Both Xehanort and Ansem the Wise had associations with darkness.  Ansem the Wise looked into darkness via a psychological test, and was already quite aware of darkness itself, it seemed.  Both he and Riku at one point stared into the darkness unflinchingly…  And one stares with one’s eyes.

Only Xehanort (and his incarnations) and Ansem the Wise have orange eyes.  Perhaps then befriending darkness changes one’s eyes.  Darkness has the power to change one’s appearance, as Ansem the Wise noted in his sixth secret report.  Riku literally became Xehanort’s Heartless in appearance.  He sacrificed his form just as Xehanort sacrificed his to ascend to being only a heart.

Mickey said Riku’s “eyes couldn’t lie.”

Thus the need for a blindfold.



Secret D Report 6

In the first installment, Riku’s similarity to “Ansem,” Xehanort’s Heartless, was a wonderfully ironic parallel.  The similarities of narrow eyes, muscular build (for their ages) and white hair was more than just coincidence.

Even in the story spanning the gap between the first and second installments, the similarities are used for irony, but not as necessary.  

Yet the similarities continue to increase in the gap between full installments.  Here Riku seeks redemption and his character has changed greatly, learning from his downfalls.  He is the less like any of Xehanort’s incarnations by journey’s end.  In spite of that, the similarities in appearance continue.

Riku's face shape has gotten longer, more like Xehanort's.  Xehanort has lighter skin than both his Nobody and Heartless as well, more like Riku's.  Riku now wears a white vest, and a black, zippered garment underneath, interestingly.  Xehanort wore a white coat.  Xemnas, a part of Xehanort, wore a black robe with a large zipper.  Xehanort’s hair, unlike his Heartless looks more normal for lack of better description.  His hair is also somewhat more in his face, and shorter.  Riku’s hair has gotten longer.  Parts of his hair along the ears are swept back slightly now, a bit more like "Ansem's.”  That may have to do with the view, however.

Only two individuals have lost their hearts and retained a sense of self as a Heartless, both individuals with strong hearts.  Those with strong hearts can create Nobodies that retain a human form, thereby emphasizing that Xehanort had a strong heart.  Perhaps, then, an individual with an especially strong heart could not only keep their sense of self as a Heartless, but their form as well.  This would denote that Xehanort’s heart would be stronger than Sora’s.  Riku proved his heart can be stronger, and after everything he has gone though, surely he’s grown more than both physically and mentally.  Though this is speculation and possibly correlation, it is at least a very interesting correlation.

Later encounters with Xehanort’s Heartless, or more exactly, Riku, show that he has undergone a voice change.  Though overall richer in tone, it is also some degree more youthful.  It may not be too unlikely this voice is a blend of the Heartless’s and Riku’s.  Riku, after he had undergone his transformation into “Ansem,” had this different voice, but also had control over it.  This is shown when Sora finally met him in this form. Once it was clear to him he would be staying with the others, Riku suddenly began speaking like his old self again, and was also completely unphased by it.  In any case, if he planned on calling himself “Ansem,” then there would be little point not to make an effort to sound different from himself.  Thus, even though he sacrificed his original form, he could still use his own voice when he desired.  This voice may be a dark power, some of which were retained after ceasing to be part of the dark realm.  Examples of this include the Shield, the Aura, and, with Sora’s aid, the Cannon.  If he was able to retain this ability, it would explain why it was identical to Xehanort’s.  

It is easy to question why Sora remembers this different voice, but it is simply explained.  Naminé had a lifetime of memories to search through, and considering Sora’s mind, finding that link for the chain of memories may have been a problem.  One would expect that the voice of a Heartless would be different from the whole person’s voice, much like that of a Nobody.  Seeing that Naminé could alter and add memories, Riku may have lent his voice to Sora’s restoration.  It would be of little surprise, as Riku clearly wished to redeem himself, doing all he could to help the friend he had once so terribly wronged.

Zexion made a comment that the “new scent” that entered Castle Oblivion was “identically similar” to the Superior’s.  I had made the assumption that “Ansem’s” presence in Riku’s heart had been the cause of this, though in theory there would still be two scents.  The fact that both Riku and Xemnas ended as beings of twilight was another assumption as to why the scents were the same.  Of course, Riku became such a being by wielding both light and darkness, and Xemnas was born of neither, so was thus something in-between.

While that could well be the case, the identicalness of the scents is possibly a clue.



Secret D Report 7

Similarities can extend beyond the more physical characteristics, but stretch to the acts and abilities of the individuals.  

It has been made it clear that not just anyone can open a door to the heart of a world.  Riku, a Keyblade Master, did.  …So why would Xehanort be able to if he did not also once hold the potential to wield the Keyblade as Riku did when he opened the door in his world?

In addition, it is well known that Riku used a unique weapon, the Soul Eater.  Yet Xehanort’s Heartless uses a double-ended Soul Eater.  This could be a result of Ansem possessing Riku, and that his features were showing through.  However, at that stage there are no similarities to Riku beyond those that Xehanort already had.

In Castle Oblivion, it appears that Riku writes his very own reports.  Though written in third person, it appears he has them on his person.  The entity known at the time as “DiZ” was also written in third person, as well as the King, leaving all likely individuals actually less than likely to have penned them in comparison to Riku.  Because it chronicles his struggle with darkness, hence the “D,” Riku would probably find the name perfect for it, especially by the time he reached the dark sea with Sora.

In his reports, Ansem the Wise describes the power of darkness as superhuman, and described Xehanort’s abilities as such as well.  



Secret D Report 8

Additional parallels exist as irony or interesting coincidence.

As an obvious example, Xehanort’s Heartless said that he and Riku are similar, although much in the stereotypical way any antagonist does to tempt a protagonist.

Though a stretch, the red-dressed DiZ opposing Xehanort could be a parallel to the red-dressed Sora opposing Riku in the first installment.

If one reads into things deeply, perhaps admittedly too much so, there is an odd listing in Secret Ansem Report #13.  It lists off the names, “Roxas, Ansem, Namine…” only to list, “Sora, Kairi, Riku,” later.  Roxas and Namine are alter egos of Sora and Kairi, of course, and they are unusual.  Yet we are left with an additional parallel here then between “Ansem” and Riku, both unusual individuals.

Ansem the Wise found Xehanort, it seems, and said in the first of his Secret Ansem Reports that he nursed the man back to health.  As a parallel, he also found Riku after he separated from Mickey.  To quote, “I found him wandering the darkness, after you and he lost track of each other…”  Perhaps this is history repeating itself.

Three is a magic number in many stories, though this is typically truer in Western civilization.  However, it should be noted that Riku has already become “Ansem” twice.  The first time was involuntary as his body was possessed by Xehanort’s Heartless.  The second was by choice, which enabled him to use the power of darkness to its fullest to overpower Roxas.  Riku was willing to give up his form for his friend, and as a path to redemption.  In this case, it would be for his friends yet again, as will be detailed in a later report.

However, the more logical parallel comes from events taking place at Memory’s Skyscraper.  Early on, Roxas, a part of Sora, clashes with Riku.  Roxas ascends the building as Riku dives from it.  Later, Sora runs up the edifice to fight the descending Xemnas.



Secret D Report 9

Memory is a crucial point, of course, as Xehanort seems unable to recall his past.  

The original “Ansem” Reports, those penned by Xehanort, state he chose a “special girl” to send out into the ocean of worlds in hopes she would have the traits of the other Princesses of Heart.  But what would inspire him to think Kairi may be a Princess of Heart, or even like one?  One argument could be that they experimented on her only to find there was no darkness.  That being said, then Kairi would possibly be quite a disturbed individual if that came to pass, and it’s possible that Kairi’s heart might have been lost in the process (though never becoming a Heartless, of course, since she had no darkness) However, since retrieving a heart can be difficult, losing her heart now would likely nullify the events that would lead to her heart nestling within Sora’s.

But Namine stated, when Marluxia ordered her to erase Sora’s memories, that erasing someone’s memory would cause the heart to collapse, and a collapsed heart, according to Xehanort’s reports, results in a Heartless.  It was unlikely Xehanort had become a Heartless beforehand, and even so, with no memories how would he know he could reclaim his heart as a Nobody?  Thus, if Xehanort suffered from amnesia, it is likely he held onto at least one memory to keep his heart from collapsing, one that influenced his later decision…

…a memory of Kairi.

Also, both Riku and Xehanort seem to take an interest in the ocean.  Riku has often been seen looking out at the ocean, even at “the end of the road,” at the dark sea.  Xemnas, Xehanort’s Nobody, has been seen looking out at that same dark sea, where he spoke with Roxas.  Though Nobodies have no emotions, since they have no hearts, they do act based on their memories of emotions.  It seems likely Xemnas may have had some trace of feeling based on the sea, perhaps in conjunction with Kairi.

With so little of the most recent story focusing on Riku, even less than the first, one simply wonders why the similarities increase.



Secret D Report 10

If Riku were a time traveler, it would seem likely that either he or his companions would begin to note the increase in similarities and possibly realize what was happening.  If so, Riku would be faced with the choice of taking the road to darkness, to Xehanort, or another road to avoid that fate.

Yet to do the latter would result in a colossal time paradox that would literally wipe away nearly all we know.  

With a single act, the only similarities to the tale we know would be that two boys lived on the Destiny Islands, and that a young girl lived in Hollow Bastion under the rule of Ansem the Wise.  Of course, there would be a few basic others, but the events that unfolded would cease to occur.  

Sora would never obtain the Keyblade or even leave his island.  The worlds would not be in such peril, and the tiny king, Mickey, would have never ventured from his peaceful castle.  

Kairi would neither have realized her power as a Princess of Heart, nor have met Sora.

And, of course, not only would Xehanort have ceased to cause the chaos, but Riku would neither succumb to darkness or be there to become Xehanort, feeding the time paradox.

Riku would find himself with an inescapable responsibility that would put his friends in danger and result in his own demise twice over by the hand of a best friend.



Secret D Report 11

This would certainly seem a tragic fate for a character already suffering, so one would wonder why Riku would be put in such a dreadful situation.

Nomura has already catered to the female enthusiasts that enjoy seeing characters with…  “Unofficial tastes…”  By making subtle references that could be interpreted as such.  Many enthusiasts, both male and female, preferring official or unofficial interpretations, take pleasure in Riku’s anguish.

Nomura himself is also known for twists in the story, and this would be a considerable twist after several games that explore Riku’s character as he grows.

This situation complicates the storyline, as we’ve seen occur with each installment, so the trend follows here.

Lastly, it would amplify the irony of Riku’s character as he literally becomes the being he fought against deep within his heart for so long.  

There would also be the irony of Sora facing the idea of eliminating, or rather, having eliminated, a best friend.



Secret D Report 12

However, the storylines have left ways out already to allow characters to avoid death, especially by the shrewd, but that is a theory to delve further into at a later time.  For now, there is salvation for Riku.

And in this, Even’s Nobody held the key, and even showed us his “toy.”

There was already a possible intertwining of destinies between Riku and the Replica.  When the latter asks where his heart will go when he dies, leaving Riku to sadly reply, “It'll go somewhere. Probably the same place my heart will go.”  Though the languishing Replica quips at how “original” that idea is, it could make some sense if Riku is involved with a replica again.

Any good scientist leaves notes, and surely Vexen would be no exception.  There is even a possibility that Vexen made a replica of himself, complete with his memories.  If these plans were found, and if Namine still has enough influence to alter the memory of another replica, then another could take Riku’s place with just enough memory to support his heart.

Another.

Xehanort.



Secret D Report 13

From all this, it can be asserted, most simply, that Riku literally is Xehanort, and Sora’s primary nemesis.  

Sora and his companions, including Riku, venture into the past, perhaps after making a trip to Castle Oblivion and discovering the notes of Vexen.  There it is learned that an individual perfectly matching Riku goes on to become Xehanort.  This leaves the characters with a dire choice.  They could leave Riku behind after Namine, perhaps still inside Kairi, erases most of Riku’s memory.  They could also change history, turning time into chaos, and leaving a morbid responsibility on Riku’s shoulders.

But Riku has always been more apt to take the middle road.

A replica would be left behind, a being fated only to cause bedlam and die in tragedy, much like the first replica became. It would be a being that would, as the first one did, pull Riku’s heartstrings, and evoke bittersweet feelings for anyone who experiences his story.

Thus, here, the future of this young man is the same as his past.



.     .     .


He could not understand.  He knew he had to have been with others.  How else could he have gotten into the middle of such a wasteland, he wondered.

The young man licked dry lips, only to taste dust, one of the few things he knew.

His silver-white hair had turned a shade of tan, as had his skin, as that dust caked itself onto every inch of him, adhering to sweat with ease.  The combination of the two made his clothes stiff and uncomfortable.

Gasping from exhaustion, he fell to his knees, trying to crawl.  His greatest wish was also his simplest: water.

The crossroads was strange, as were the weapons planted in the dirt.  He wanted to know as much as he could about this place, and what lay beyond it.

Especially if there was water.

The sun stung his skin, an odd sensation, as he found his arms unable to support himself.

And why did it feel it was his responsibility to be here?

He closed his eyes, the world giving way to darkness.

Darkness…  

“Familiar...  Why?”


.     .     .


Licking his lips, the young man found them moist and the odd taste had been lessened.  He opened his eyes to find himself in a room.  He had been redressed, the feeling of cool sheets on his hands.

Immediately sitting up, he looked around.

“Ah, I see you have awakened.”

The youth looked to a man dressed in a white lab coat across the room.

“Who are you?  Where am I?”

“Patience, no need to be alarmed.  I found you on my travels in the land.  You certainly seem to be doing better.”  The older man put his hands behind his back.  He held himself with dignity, and the youth thought his hair should have been lighter than blonde, considering his age.

“Why did you help me?  Do you want something from me?”  The young man couldn’t help but be suspicious.

“Such curiosity, so many questions.”

“And I noticed you haven’t answered a single one.”  Looking down at himself, the youth found that he, like the man, had been dressed in white.

“Very well.  I shall start with the first ones.  You are in a place we now call ‘Radiant Garden.’  I am called Ansem.  ‘Servant of this world,’ is as good a title as any.  But I did not hear your name.”

“It’s…  It’s…  Grr, why can't I remember?” he snarled more at himself than anything.  The youth held his head, but the only thing that came to mind was a very faint image of a girl about his age, silhouetted against the sunlight ocean, but even that was starting to fade…

“Do you have a twin?”

“Huh?  Why?”

Ansem shook his head.  “Perhaps the heat of the path created an illusion in the distance.  I have seen stranger things in the dust than another you.”

“Another…?”

“Let us line the pieces up.   Tell me,” Ansem approached.  “What do you remember?”






Characters, terms, and other Kingdom Hearts specifics copyright Square Enix and Disney.  Written by Rebmakash.