I must repeat, this post will be riddled with spoilers. I'm not going to use spoiler tags, otherwise the entire post would be black. Use common sense - if you don't want something to be spoiled, or don't know if there's anything left to be spoiled, then don't look ahead. I'll be mentioning content from every game, particularly Final Mix+.
So I've finished 358/2 Days and it's sparked my interest in the future of the Kingdom Hearts series. I've spent yesterday and today refreshing my memory of the events, and learning about what happens in the extra Re:CoM & FM+ scenes. I've filled in a few of the plot holes in my knowledge and decided to share them with the rest of you - provided my knowledge is right, my presumptions won't be far off and I'll see a few nodding heads following my post. Failing that, I'll cry about how my last 2 days have been a waste of my time. D:
I'm not sure where to start, so I might re-type this a few times in following posts in a better structure, incorporating feedback from other members (hopefully).
FINAL WARNING: spoilers ahead.
1) Well, my speculation, I suppose, should 'begin with Birth by Sleep'. A simple spoiler has led to this cascade of theories: I discovered that, in Birth by Sleep, Terra, for reasons that I've decided not to investigate, actually 'merges' with Master Xehanort (the bald man who resembles Xehanort's Heartless from the trailers) to become the man we know as Xehanort - the apprentice of Ansem the Wise. As I've decided not to investigate and ruin the game for myself further, I don't know why he acts the way he does in the series (e.g. further studying the heart of all worlds), so this might collapse my entire post in the future.
2) As we know, Xehanort's Heartless is the main villain of KH1. Xehanort's Nobody is Xemnas (so-called because Xehanort pretended to be Ansem). If Terra is Xehanort and Xehanort's Nobody is Xemnas, then I find it very safe to say that Xemnas is Terra's Nobody (and the villain in KH1 is Terra's Heartless but we can ignore that - it's arbitrary information). We also know that the Organization are a class of special Nobodies who can remember their past lives (with the exceptions of Roxas and Xion [possibly Naminé too - she's aware of Kairi but we're not sure if she remembers being Kairi]). I will then safely say that Xemnas can remember being Terra (assuming that Xehanort can remember being Terra - we don't know enough about him to say for certain, though). This would explain Xemnas' knowledge of the Keyblade and of Kingdom Hearts.
3) In 358/2 Days, Xemnas has Axel searching for the "Chamber of Wakening" at Castle Oblivion. It contains the body/armour and Keyblade of Ventus (apparently uncovered in Birth by Sleep). Xemnas never finds this chamber, as far as we know.
4) In Final Mix+, we discover that Xehanort built a chamber - the Chamber of Repose (or "Room of Sleep" as it's called in Japan). He now locks himself in that chamber frequently and speak to the armour/body of Aqua and calls it "friend". Xigbar speculates with Zexion that the Chamber of Awakening --the other "part" of the Chamber of Repose-- and in turn another "friend" is located at Castle Oblivion:
"People with the Blade of Keys started to appear and fought great battles. When they were gone, a man who had lost his memories appeared. Xemnas...no. Xehanort was taken in by Ansem at that time, was he not? The "Room of Sleep"...the underground laboratory where we were studying the darkness within people's hearts...the place which Ansem had ordered us to seal away. The first thing Xemnas did when he got rid of our wise yet bothersome leader was to release that seal and make that room in the depths of the laboratory. [...] with the Room of Sleep comes the Room of Awakening. The other place is what he's seeking. Perhaps that is where the other "friend" is." - Xigbar.
5) What I think is that Xemnas was trying to find Ventus and resurrect him and Aqua. If he can recall his life as Terra then this makes sense (he could simply want to revive his friends from whatever fate befalls them in BBS, but as far as we know his intentions are darker in relation to everything else so why would he be interested in friendship - a fake one at that, as he is a Nobody? Maybe he was doing this alongside trying to get back his own heart by taking over Kingdom Hearts); if he cannot then I'm not certain what he will have been doing. Trying to recruit more Organization members?
The title "Birth by Sleep" and the "Chamber of Repose/Sleep" tells me that the chamber below the Heartless Manufactory is intended for (re)birth. The chamber was built before Xehanort became a Nobody - is it possible that Xemnas, being a Nobody, remembers his past life as both Xehanort and Terra? This would explain his connection to the armours of Aqua and Terra.
Possible flaw in theories: "a man who had lost his memories appeared" - if this is in fact Xehanort, then Xehanort and, by extension, Xemnas would not be able to recall their life as Terra.
Counterpoint: turning in to a Nobody might have allowed Xemnas to recall his life as both Xehanort and Terra.
I'm not sure how, and I'm not sure why, but this information, along with the following quote:
"This is what happens when we need him and he sleeps." - Vexen
tells me that the "sleep" theme running through the story recently is going to continue, possibly in to the return of Ven and Aqua? If Xemnas also slept down there then will he find a way to come back, too? Or will Terra come back?
---------------------
What about other sides of the story? Well, have we ever considered the Heartless of Organization XIII? Nobodies cannot exist/occur without the formation of a Heartless. Are their Heartless still out there? Have they been destroyed?
When a person's Heartless is destroyed, the captive heart that is released goes to Kingdom Hearts. A person can become whole again if the Nobody is destroyed following this. If their Heartless have been destroyed, and Organization XIII have all been defeated (save for Roxas), does that mean they'll all return?
This leads me to think believe that Axel's still alive, at the very least. In another cutscene in Final Mix+, Saix calls Axel "weak" for believing in a false friendship with Roxas and getting close to Sora's heart. Xemnas responds by saying that some things "awaken through weakness [...] Axel touched Sora's heart [...] perhaps he has awakened too". Furthering the theme of sleep (or waking up), this makes me think that Axel will make another appearance sometime soon.
Well it's taken me all day to write this. I think I'll revisit this thread rather frequently to try and fine-tune some things, particularly as more news/BBS comes to light.
Thoughts?
So I've finished 358/2 Days and it's sparked my interest in the future of the Kingdom Hearts series. I've spent yesterday and today refreshing my memory of the events, and learning about what happens in the extra Re:CoM & FM+ scenes. I've filled in a few of the plot holes in my knowledge and decided to share them with the rest of you - provided my knowledge is right, my presumptions won't be far off and I'll see a few nodding heads following my post. Failing that, I'll cry about how my last 2 days have been a waste of my time. D:
I'm not sure where to start, so I might re-type this a few times in following posts in a better structure, incorporating feedback from other members (hopefully).
FINAL WARNING: spoilers ahead.
1) Well, my speculation, I suppose, should 'begin with Birth by Sleep'. A simple spoiler has led to this cascade of theories: I discovered that, in Birth by Sleep, Terra, for reasons that I've decided not to investigate, actually 'merges' with Master Xehanort (the bald man who resembles Xehanort's Heartless from the trailers) to become the man we know as Xehanort - the apprentice of Ansem the Wise. As I've decided not to investigate and ruin the game for myself further, I don't know why he acts the way he does in the series (e.g. further studying the heart of all worlds), so this might collapse my entire post in the future.
2) As we know, Xehanort's Heartless is the main villain of KH1. Xehanort's Nobody is Xemnas (so-called because Xehanort pretended to be Ansem). If Terra is Xehanort and Xehanort's Nobody is Xemnas, then I find it very safe to say that Xemnas is Terra's Nobody (and the villain in KH1 is Terra's Heartless but we can ignore that - it's arbitrary information). We also know that the Organization are a class of special Nobodies who can remember their past lives (with the exceptions of Roxas and Xion [possibly Naminé too - she's aware of Kairi but we're not sure if she remembers being Kairi]). I will then safely say that Xemnas can remember being Terra (assuming that Xehanort can remember being Terra - we don't know enough about him to say for certain, though). This would explain Xemnas' knowledge of the Keyblade and of Kingdom Hearts.
3) In 358/2 Days, Xemnas has Axel searching for the "Chamber of Wakening" at Castle Oblivion. It contains the body/armour and Keyblade of Ventus (apparently uncovered in Birth by Sleep). Xemnas never finds this chamber, as far as we know.
4) In Final Mix+, we discover that Xehanort built a chamber - the Chamber of Repose (or "Room of Sleep" as it's called in Japan). He now locks himself in that chamber frequently and speak to the armour/body of Aqua and calls it "friend". Xigbar speculates with Zexion that the Chamber of Awakening --the other "part" of the Chamber of Repose-- and in turn another "friend" is located at Castle Oblivion:
"People with the Blade of Keys started to appear and fought great battles. When they were gone, a man who had lost his memories appeared. Xemnas...no. Xehanort was taken in by Ansem at that time, was he not? The "Room of Sleep"...the underground laboratory where we were studying the darkness within people's hearts...the place which Ansem had ordered us to seal away. The first thing Xemnas did when he got rid of our wise yet bothersome leader was to release that seal and make that room in the depths of the laboratory. [...] with the Room of Sleep comes the Room of Awakening. The other place is what he's seeking. Perhaps that is where the other "friend" is." - Xigbar.
5) What I think is that Xemnas was trying to find Ventus and resurrect him and Aqua. If he can recall his life as Terra then this makes sense (he could simply want to revive his friends from whatever fate befalls them in BBS, but as far as we know his intentions are darker in relation to everything else so why would he be interested in friendship - a fake one at that, as he is a Nobody? Maybe he was doing this alongside trying to get back his own heart by taking over Kingdom Hearts); if he cannot then I'm not certain what he will have been doing. Trying to recruit more Organization members?
The title "Birth by Sleep" and the "Chamber of Repose/Sleep" tells me that the chamber below the Heartless Manufactory is intended for (re)birth. The chamber was built before Xehanort became a Nobody - is it possible that Xemnas, being a Nobody, remembers his past life as both Xehanort and Terra? This would explain his connection to the armours of Aqua and Terra.
Possible flaw in theories: "a man who had lost his memories appeared" - if this is in fact Xehanort, then Xehanort and, by extension, Xemnas would not be able to recall their life as Terra.
Counterpoint: turning in to a Nobody might have allowed Xemnas to recall his life as both Xehanort and Terra.
I'm not sure how, and I'm not sure why, but this information, along with the following quote:
"This is what happens when we need him and he sleeps." - Vexen
tells me that the "sleep" theme running through the story recently is going to continue, possibly in to the return of Ven and Aqua? If Xemnas also slept down there then will he find a way to come back, too? Or will Terra come back?
---------------------
What about other sides of the story? Well, have we ever considered the Heartless of Organization XIII? Nobodies cannot exist/occur without the formation of a Heartless. Are their Heartless still out there? Have they been destroyed?
When a person's Heartless is destroyed, the captive heart that is released goes to Kingdom Hearts. A person can become whole again if the Nobody is destroyed following this. If their Heartless have been destroyed, and Organization XIII have all been defeated (save for Roxas), does that mean they'll all return?
This leads me to think believe that Axel's still alive, at the very least. In another cutscene in Final Mix+, Saix calls Axel "weak" for believing in a false friendship with Roxas and getting close to Sora's heart. Xemnas responds by saying that some things "awaken through weakness [...] Axel touched Sora's heart [...] perhaps he has awakened too". Furthering the theme of sleep (or waking up), this makes me think that Axel will make another appearance sometime soon.
Well it's taken me all day to write this. I think I'll revisit this thread rather frequently to try and fine-tune some things, particularly as more news/BBS comes to light.
Thoughts?
Now, where to begin....
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