After Sombra's hard work in bringing back more of their allies, and using some of the Replicas to give the two Nobodies their own bodies again, Roxas found that they spent some time talking about various things, like filling in Fluttershy and Ventus, telling Ventus why there was someone who looked like him present, and other topics. From what he could tell the group was like a family of sorts, like the Organization but with greater bonds than what he was used to, and even with the short period of time he and his friends had been with them he felt better than before. In addition to that there was Aqua fussing over Ventus, as he had been asleep for a long time, in the sense that his body had been in what Roxas guessed was a magical coma of sorts, and he was definitely hungry for something to eat. Fluttershy, of course, was worried she might have done something bad while she was trapped in her Heartless form, where the others assured her that she had been quite safe and had done nothing wrong, while Seras was happy to have her other self, a sister if someone looked at them, back.
Eventually it came time for him, Xion, Axel, and Seras to return to the main castle and see if there were any missions Saix or Xemnas wanted them to do, causing the others to wish them well as his group returned to Twilight Town for a few minutes before warping back to the castle, right into the lobby area.
"And where have you four been?" Saix asked, as if he had been waiting here the entire time and knew that it was only a matter of time until they came back to the castle, where they could see that he wasn't too happy with them leaving without receiving a mission first, since their time out meant they had wasted precious time, which would have been better spent hunting down Heartless.
"Sorry, after facing that army I... was angry that so many hearts were lost." Roxas replied, which was the truth, originally he had been enraged with Sombra stealing the hearts they needed to complete their Kingdom Hearts and fulfill their goal of giving every Nobody their own heart, or at least those in the Organization, so it was easy for him to say this without giving anything away, "I had to go cool off, least I get reprimanded for not controlling my anger. Anyway, I'm ready to get back to work and free more hearts to complete our Kingdom Hearts."
Saix stood there for a moment, as he wondered if there was more to what was going on than what he was currently seeing, especially since Axel and the others had gone out of their way to help Roxas tame his anger, another thing that was cause for worry, since there was no telling what someone like him might do.
"Very well. Roxas, you and Axel will be heading back to Twilight Town to take out some Heartless, while Xion will do the same in Deep Jungle, and Seras will travel to Agrabah with the same mission in mind." Saix said, because they had to make up for the fact that Sombra had stolen many hearts during the battle with the army of Heartless, hearts that could have gone to furthering their goal, and this was the best way to go about it, separating the wielders to make sure they claimed more hearts over a short period of time, "Depart when you are ready."
Roxas nodded, he really wasn't surprised by this, not after what they had learned from Sombra, though he said nothing about that as Axel collected the information about their mission, just like Xion and Seras did after him, and once all four of them were ready to go three Dark Corridors were opened and they stepped through their portals.
"You know... this place is starting to feel like home for some reason." Roxas remarked, speaking once they were back in the town that they had been in not a couple of minutes ago, this time positioned in front of the train station, though he only started talking once the portal had closed behind them, where he found the usual trio hanging out, "Hayner, Pence, Olette... man, I wonder what it would be like to just... I don't know, stop doing missions for Xemnas and just hang out with some people without having to worry about worrying about whose playing me or not."
"You mean hang out with your friends? Like a normal boy whose only worry is schoolwork?" a voice asked, where the pair found Ansem the Wise, wearing most of his DiZ outfit since it allowed him to move around without the Organization being able to track his movements, standing nearby, though he seemed to know that Roxas would need time to think and that he, out of the trio, might falter after taking on Sombra's great task.
"Yeah. I know what's expected of me, but... part of me really wants to take a break." Roxas replied, because ever since he first woke up and joined the Organization it had been constant fighting and no breaks, to the point where he wanted to just remove himself from most of the equations that Xemnas and Xehanort had created, for the time being, and while he wanted to help Sombra he wasn't sure how long he could do so without a break.
"I understand. Sombra expected that you would need time to rest and come to terms with everything that has happened to you... so here, a gift from Radiant." Ansem said, where he pulled out a package and Roxas took it, where he and Axel found that it was a set of clothing sized to fit his body, two different jackets, one white and one black, a pair of pants that was two different colors, and a wristband, meaning his shoes were good enough to go with them, and he found that one of the jackets had an X zipper, like the Nobody symbol, "Now that she has figured out how to embed clothing and jewelry with the same properties of the Organization's coats, you will have no fear of them tracking you down."
"Not to be the bearer of bad news, but, this is the place Roxas knows the best, out of all the worlds. It's literally the first place they'll look." Axel remarked, because he was sure that Xemnas would do such a thing, in fact the moment he and the others learned that Roxas was leaving they would send him to take him out, since he was the assassin for the group, so it would be hard to stop the Organization from tracking him down.
"Yes, that is true... which is why I have created a Datascape, a digital world of sorts, that will be broadcasting an signature that matches Roxas' unique energy." Ansem replied, something that told Roxas far more than he was expecting, both the man and Sombra had been planning for him meeting them for a long time and had plans in place in case something were to happen, either by his own desires or by the order of the Organization, "It will draw the Organization's eyes to it for as long as it is deemed necessary. Now, in order to assure that Xemnas is fooled by your report, Axel, you and Roxas will go after Riku and fight him in an area where we can trick them into believing that Roxas has been taken against his will... if he moves as we assume, you will be ordered to track Roxas down and can freely come and go from the Datescape. As long as the Organization's focus in on the Datascape, and nothing else, you should be able to rest and relax for as long as you want to, Roxas... we will, of course, have to inform Xion and Seras of the altered plan."
Axel had to chuckle as he heard that, because it sure sounded like Sombra had planned for everything and knew that she might need alternate plans in case the people allied with her did something different, where Roxas nodded as they got ready for the next stage of the altered plan as he wondered how the Organization would react to the news.
Xemnas sat in his room for a time after reading the report that Saix had delivered after sending the wielder off on their missions, though that wasn't what was on his mind fight now, rather he was focused on the massive army of Heartless and what the Organization had seen. Despite the fact that they were wearing different colored coats, he was positive that the Somebodies of Larxene and Marluxia had taken part of that battle, cutting down Heartless, as the moves seemed far too similar to what the pair used when they were training. Though that wasn't the only thing on his mind, there was one other figure that added some worry to the entire situation, the magic user that was part of Sombra's forces and likely had a Keyblade of her own, one he hadn't seen her use despite all of the hearts she freed. There was only one figure that had magic like that, something he knew thanks to certain memories that had surfaced after seeing her in battle once more, a fact that was shared by only one other member of the Organization, which was Xigbar, his trusted right hand.
The problem with that discovery was that there was so much that could happen if the figure was no longer trapped inside her self imposed prison, the Darkworld, especially if he was right and she had sided with Sombra, the worst person in the entirety of the World, because that meant Sombra would ruin everything.
"That was Aqua, no doubt about it... man, another thorn has appeared to ruin our plan." Xigbar remarked, because that was what he had come to talk about, to the point where he used their secret code word, that being Xehanort's name since it told Xemnas that things were serious if he was using it, to make sure they were left alone for some time, "What's worse is that she might lead Sombra to Ventus and then we'll lose him as well."
Xemnas said nothing to that, because he knew that both he and Xigbar had far more memories of their past than the rest of the Organization, and all of that included knowing the plan that Master Xehanort had in mind, or at least bits of it since both of them hadn't been told everything. What he knew about the plan was that the figure had been seeking vessels, for some unknown reason, and it seemed like the best were the empty vessels he could fill with his darkness, and based on what Xigbar knew it seemed like Ventus was a perfect candidate. Xemnas knew that the mysterious man would love to get his hands on the Organization, but that happened to be most of the reason why he was seeking Kingdom Hearts, both to give himself more power and to give the Nobodies hearts, the former to do everything in his power to make sure each of his friends were safe from Xehanort's plans. He suspected that this change to his own plans was due to Seras' arrival and all of her tampering with how things were supposed to go, plus the awakening of emotions that Xemnas thought he would never awaken, in addition to changing how he mentally thought about the other members of the Organization.
His thoughts, however, were interrupted as a Dusk flew into the room, something that was only allowed when the need was important, and his eyes widened a little as he got a terrible report that would shake things up, causing him to nod so the Dusk could leave, followed by him and Xigbar leaving as well.
"What's going on now?" Xigbar asked, because he knew that when Xemnas got messages like this it was usually bad, since he let the communications to Saix or the other members, which only made him wonder what in the world Sombra had done this time around and what the damage to the Organization was.
"It's Roxas... it would appear that Riku ambushed him and Axel while they were on a mission." Xemnas replied, which was when he noticed the shocked look on Xigbar's face, as they knew that Roxas had just awakened his true power and both of his Keyblades, something that was still a shock to him when he thought about it, and he could see the gears turning in his head as they stepped into the infirmary, where a bruised Axel was sitting on a counter as he drank a potion, "Axel, it is good to see that you are alright... but... where is Roxas?"
"Taken... ow, that runt got me good." Axel answered, because to make this convincing he and Roxas did fight Riku, where they got a glimpse of the power that was inside that amulet of his, and his own growing power for that matter, which was why he had come in with some painful convincing wounds, "We were tracking down the group of Wyverns that were said to be in Twilight Town, thanks to one of the last reports that had been made, when Riku, wearing one of our coats, came out of a Dark Corridor and attacked us. I'm not too sure what happened after that, as Roxas and I fought him before he knocked me out, but from what I can tell Roxas forced him to go all out to bring him down... and when I came to Roxas was nowhere to be seen, and I even used the Dusks to make sure."
"...Roxas..." Xemnas said, where he leaned against the wall that was behind him and raised his hand to his face, covering his eyes for a time as he realized that another friend had been taken, that another friend was lost to him, which made his body ache more than ever before.
"Either Sombra or Ansem the Wise is behind this... only they would have him taken alive." Xigbar remarked, though as he said that he knew that there was something wrong with Xemnas, he was no longer himself and that worried him greatly, as it meant that their plan might now be in jeopardy as well, but he had to maintain his composure, "Xemnas, what do we do about this?"
"Axel... I hate to place all of this on you, but you are the most suited for tracking down Riku, Roxas, and whoever took him from us." Xemnas said, where he pulled his hands from his face and straightened his stance once more, even though he was saddened by this news and also fueled to do everything in their power to save one of their friends, before he paused for a few seconds as he considered something else, "Use whatever resources you need to track our friend down and bring him back to us... but for the time being keep this from Xion and Seras, at least until we know more."
Axel really couldn't believe what he was seeing or hearing, Xemnas, their leader, actually seemed to care about them as more than tools, just like Larxene and Marluxia had said earlier, causing him to nod his head as he prepared himself for the job of his life, all while praying that this worked as Sombra intended as he wondered what the future held for them and the Organization.
And the set up For Kingdom Hearts 2 has seen the light of day.
This all makes me wonder, would Lea and Axel actually be different people in this timeline, or is the line between them so blurry that it doesn't really matter?
Things are even further off course than I thought. In canon, Xemnas formed the Organization to gather together the perfect vessels to house Xehanort's essence for the clash to create the X-Blade. There's no comparison anymore in this story. Xemnas has become enough of his own person that he doesn't even identify as Xehanort, and he considers the Organization a family that he wants to protect from Xehanort, who he knows will still be expecting to follow the original plan.
Well the plot for KH3 is definitely going off the rails. Now I wonder if the other masters will become the next villains?
Is KH2 still going to happen? This all seem to change massive developments or am I mistaken?
11855855
From the sounds of it KH2 likely is still happening since Xemnas still wants to go through with the Kingdom Hearts plan, just for his own much more noble reasons instead of Xehanort's original goal.
As far as I can tell from what we've seen so far, the only games that are completely derailed are KH3 and at least the ending of DDD/Start of KH2. Since Sombra's actions so far have removed most of the Real Org members from the equation. something which I suspect will continue to happen going forward.
11856143
I personally can't wait for Terra to come back. Just need to beat Xemnas and locate the Lingering Will.
11856179
Honestly I'm not so sure that we'll get Terra back that easily, Xemnas may have his Body and Lingering Will should be easy enough to find soon.. but Sombra missed her chance to secure his Heart, as she did not capture it during the fight with Seeker of Darkness in KH1 which puts a rather significant barrier to his return.
I'm personally more excited to see how things will go once Xehanort returns, since as it stands he has absolutely no way to secure 13 Darkness for his plan. I'm honestly starting to wonder if he may pull a surprise twist and Try and act as the 7 Lights for the events of KH3 instead while making Sombra and friends the 13 Darkness.
11856474
...No pretty sure she got his heart. I'm pretty sure she took it from the Guardian Heartless, and it was brought up around when Aqua was explaining her past? I distinctly remember Sombra mentioning they were missing something unknown to bring Terra back, since they both had his Heart and knew where his Body was.
11856480
Hmm, I must have overlooked it when double checking as it wasn't mentioned during the actual battle as far as I could tell. Still though that certainly creates even more implications on just how screwed Xehanort's plan is since that does put Terranort out of the equation and he was already looking very low on possible allies. Just off the top of my head I can only think of 5 remaining Real Org XIII members that are still certain and only like.. 3 more that are in the still likely pile.
Xehanort, Young Xehanort, Seeker of Darkness, Vexen and Vanitas are all pretty much guaranteed to be on his side, while Saix, Xigbar and Luxord are in the maybe pile for backstory (or lack of backstory in Luxord's case) reasons.
11856492
If during the assault on the The World That Never Was it's not Axel vs Saix during the Org Gauntlet in the castle, I'm gonna be a bit upset. Axel has the best shot at getting through to him, due to their past.
11856492 You have to remember that Vexen was never truly on Master Xehanort's side, rather he only joined the Real Organization to complete his Replica research... Vexen even jumped ship once he found and rescued Ansem the Wise.
11856603
Fair point, I put Vexen on team Xehanort so firmly since he didn't exactly get a chance at redemption. Sombra did just kinda immediately destroy him within minutes of meeting him in Castle Oblivion after all. So I figured that didn't leave much room for changing sides until it was too late.
11856512
On that I fully agree, Saix is going to depend entirely on if Axel can get through to him in regards to there shared reason for being in this situation in the first place. He's stubborn enough about that subject I can still see him going through everything if Axel and Sombra don't find the answer to who Subject X is and what happened to her. which.. admittedly is a very tall order since we don't have any defined canon answer to that question ourselves. The only thing we know is that she is someone we've met before at some point in the series which is still a sizable list of possibilities.
11856928 Fair enough, all things considered.
11856928
I think there's a theory she might be Skuld from Union X?
11857096
That's definitely one possibility yea, there's also room for her to be Ava or Strelitzia since they're both more or less MiA (Strelitzia does show up in the KH4 trailer, but considering that the Nameless Star also mentions being from Quadratum and we don't know the mechanics of how Fictional Worlds work it's possible she could be in multiple places at once. and they also fit the only known details about her.
Personally I suspect that it's Strelitzia since her last known location in the plot (before KH4 at least) involved someone in a Black Cloak, which aligns nicely with Subject X's last known memory being of Xigbar. But either way, the important point is that it is an open ended question as of the current canon, leaving that detail open for anything to be possible.