Wonderland

As you begin Wonderland, Riku is given the Key of Beginnings and you will notice that the doors are usually blocked by entwined vines.

Unravel these vines by locating the overgrown plant with purple flowers.

Follow your path to the crown door and use the Key of Beginnings to pass through.

Boss Battle: Trickmaster

For some reason this guy seems a bit more difficult than before. Riku does not have any Summon or Magic Cards, so you must rely on the table in the middle of the room to jump high enough to slash at Trickmaster’s head. The cane-twirling giant has the same arsenal of moves, which can be flat out annoying.

If you get too close, Trickmaster uses both arms to pound the ground, sending a huge shockwave across the ground. Also if you are close, Trickmaster leans over and twirls his cane to hit you over the head. If you get too far away, Trickmaster launches fireballs at you, which can be easy to dodge if you are paying attention to the timing.

Dueling can be very effective against Trickmaster if you are in a good position.

Trickmaster loves to make your fight as painful as possible by destroying the table and chair every chance he gets. If this happens, use the Gimmick Card to respawn the dining room set.

Once you defeat the lanky giant, Riku levels up and gains the Trickmaster Card in the process.

After Riku becomes playable, follow the path in the center of the map, and run up to the north-most room as usual.

Now, wipe the sweat from your brow and pass through the door to get back to Castle Oblivion.

Riku opens the door back to the castle. Lexaeus is there waiting for him, looking none too happy either. Riku knew he would be there, since they all seem to have a scent of darkness that Riku can smell. Lexaeus seems agitated that Riku is squandering his dark potential. Lexaeus warns Riku that if he does not pick a side, he will lose both the light and dark and disappear into nothingness.

Lexaeus releases a wave of energy that blasts Riku and proclaims that he cannot allow someone who fears the darkness to proceed. The following battle is a ferocious one—a battle that will take every ounce of skill you have learned thus far.

Boss Battle: Lexaeus

As discussed before, this fight is incredibly tough. Lexaeus is more cheap than Captain Hook and as frantic a fighter as Marluxia. He is incredibly difficult to read and his patterns are just as chaotic and unforgiving. Lexaeus begins by powering up, flying at you, and slamming his sword into the ground, creating a crater of debris.

While he may let his guard down after a rough combo, Lexaeus comes back just as viciously, swinging his oversized sword in every direction.

The worst part is that even when he is taking a breather following a strong move, he is still able to break your moves with ease, leaving you to ponder how on earth you are ever going to cause enough damage.

Lexaeus uses an attack called Rockshatter that raises giant boulders around him, which inflicts moderate damage. He then swings his sword to break them all around himself. He throws his blade by winding up very slowly, which gives you plenty of time to evade with a roll maneuver. While his elemental moves may be punishing, his most lethal move is his basic slash attack that he ends with a sword slam, which does a good amount of damage. Although this move is not much on its own, the cheap part is that he can continuously repeat this move as often as he likes, which leads to an aggravated white-knuckled fight that will leave you crying foul. The worst part of this move is that it stuns you, leaving you incapacitated so that he can repeat the process.

This is a tough fight, but hit Lexaeus with Dark Firaga in D Mode until you go back to your normal form, then dodge and break until D Mode is ready again. This is your best way to beat this brute. Once you have successfully defeated him, you gain two level ups as well as the Lexaeus Card.

After the fight, Riku mocks Lexaeus, which makes the cloak wearer crack Riku into next week. Riku, however, turns into his dark form, and then slowly gets up and runs Lexaeus through with his sword. It seems that Ansem has taken control of Riku for the time being.

Riku appears, floating in a dark void while Ansem speaks to him about his fears. Ansem is about to take full control of Riku’s heart when Mickey comes in between them and protects Riku from Ansem’s dark influence. Riku awakens back in Castle Oblivion and realizes that Mickey helped him all along, giving him new hopes that the light really is on his side.

Zexion stands alone in the next scene until Axel appears before him. The two discuss the members of the Organization who have fallen in Riku and Sora’s wake. Larxene, Lexaeus, and Vexen have all fallen, which leaves the two of them and Marluxia (and we all know Marluxia’s fate at this point). It seems their plans have gone into disarray, except for one more task. And it has something to do with the data on Riku’s home.

Riku is back and a huge seismic blast rumbles through the Castle. Riku senses that a very strong scent has just disappeared, which has to have been Marluxia. It seems a lot has gone on between Sora and Riku simultaneously. After the blast, Zexion materializes before Riku, and informs him that Marluxia has indeed been felled by the Keyblade Master. Riku demands to see Sora, but Zexion reminds him that Sora’s mission is to battle darkness.

Yes, Sora must oppose anyone who is host to the darkness. In other words, Riku and Sora must do battle. Zexion twirls a card at Riku, explaining that it is the way back to his home. Only there will he find answers. Riku must go back to the place he rejected long ago. He must now go back to Destiny Islands.