Terra, Xemnas, and Xehanort... *Major Spoilers*

[Wolf Kanno]

Sorry if this has been done before...

So looking up stuff on Birth by Sleep as well as currently playing through KH2 right now. I've been intrigued by the mystery behind who Xehanort is considering how several of the Secret Ansem Reports make it a point to mention it. Now, Birth by Sleep has a new group of heroes battling against a "Master Xehanort" and partly deals with the character Terra's battle against the darkness in his hearts (this is assuming the trailers are not edited in a way to throw off players concerning the plot which highly possible).

KHII:FM has several new scenes that talk about Xemnas' having a private lab (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD_recdbNkg&feature=related) where he speaks to someone. There is a cutscene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FCTPZ1qjBE) later that shows Xemnas entering Ansem's old lab in Radiant Garden that ends with Xemnas speaking with a piece of armor that surprisingly looks like the one worn by Aqua in the Birth By Sleep secret ending.

We know Xehanort knows Aqua and he did experiments on himself concerning the darkness in his heart. My theory is that Xehanort may perhaps be Terra (possibly possessed by Master Xehanort or his apprentice). Thoughts?

[Ouch!]

You're not the first to come up with this theory (I don't mean that in a critical manner); I think I first saw it over a year ago. It included quite the diagram explaining the relationships between Master Xehanort, Terra, and Xehanort as we currently know him. It posited that the being known as Xehanort (which, as many have recognized, is an anagram of "no heart" with an x thrown in) has somehow inhabited Terra's body.

There are quite a few holes with this, of course. For example, Terra appears in Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix + as the optional Enigmatic Soldier boss. It would be odd for him to make such an appearance if the Xehanort who showed up in Radiant Gardens was just a possessed Terra.

The thing I found most interesting about the theory was not actually directly related to the connections between Terra and Master Xehanort. It had more to do with Sora's relation to Ven, specifically in the manifestation of Roxas. It's already clear that the two are related by the keyblade. Although it is ultimately Riku who wields the Way to the Dawn (which Ven picks up in Sunset Horizons), it seems clear that it was originally intended for Sora (this is evidenced by the first game's emphasis that the Kingdom Key was intended originally for Riku and then the Enigmatic Soldier's comment that he did not intend for Sora to wield the Kingdom Key).

The Birth by Sleep trailers are already presenting Ven as something of an oddity. He even goes so far as asking Terra to "erase" him. The theory in question suggested that somehow Ven's heart ended up in Sora's body much in the same way that Kairi's did. This would explain why Roxas seems to resemble Ven more so than he does Sora. It also explains how Roxas, a being supposedly lacking a heart, can weild a keyblade, a weapon requiring a heart. Given what we currently know (or can at least assume), I don't think it's too much of a stretch to think that when Sora released his heart at the end of Kingdom Hearts to free Kairi that Ven's heart was also released and created a Nobody with a heart--i.e. Roxas. This seems more likely since a few of the extra scenes in KH:FM+ suggest that Roxas does, in fact, possess a heart.

I think that something like this may explain the connections between Terra and Xehanort. The one thing that Sora and Xehanort have in common is that they are the only two to produce heartless which retained their independent will. There is no known explanation for this, but it would make sense that this was the result of having multiple hearts within the same body. There are obvious holes in this theory, but it might explain the connection between Xehanort and Terra. Perhaps, somehow, at the end of Birth by Sleep, Master Xehanort's heart will somehow migrate to Terra's body to create the Xehanort which appears at Radiant Garden. Then when he begins experimenting and casts off his physical shell, you might somehow end up with Xemnas, Xehanort's Heartless, and the Enigmatic Soldier in the same way that when Sora released his heart we ended up with Roxas (a Nobody with a heart) and Sora.

More likely than not, the "Unbirths" will explain this better than any incomplete theories we can come up with given what we currently know. I do think there is a relationship between Xehanort and Terra, but at this point I believe we know too little to make anything more than base assumptions.

[Wolf Kanno]

I agree with you on many points, especially concerning the fact that us not having the facts makes coming up with the right answer impossible. :D

Though I would like to point out that Terra is referred to as the "Lingering Spirit" in the Japanese and to me at least, denoted its not so much the party facing Terra personally but just a fragment of his spirit or even a strong memory given form.

Regardless, the theory on Sora's connection to Ven is intriguing. I don't completely agree but it does seem quite plausible and I think most people have caught onto the connection of Terra, Ven and Aqua being connected to Riku, Sora, and Kairi. I am curious to see them explain the roles of the 7 Princesses of Hearts, Sora not being properly chosen by the Keyblade, the true nature of the Heartless and the Nobodies, and King Mickey's role in all this since the Birth by Sleep trailer hints he has been part of this whole mess from the beginning.

[Ouch!]

Though I would like to point out that Terra is referred to as the "Lingering Spirit" in the Japanese and to me at least, denoted its not so much the party facing Terra personally but just a fragment of his spirit or even a strong memory given form.
Perhaps Terra's discarded heart from when Xehanort's heart possessed his body? Xemnas's lack of memories certainly suggests that for whatever reason there was an anomaly there. It has a potential explanation there anyway.


Regardless, the theory on Sora's connection to Ven is intriguing. I don't completely agree but it does seem quite plausible and I think most people have caught onto the connection of Terra, Ven and Aqua being connected to Riku, Sora, and Kairi. I am curious to see them explain the roles of the 7 Princesses of Hearts, Sora not being properly chosen by the Keyblade, the true nature of the Heartless and the Nobodies, and King Mickey's role in all this since the Birth by Sleep trailer hints he has been part of this whole mess from the beginning.
This is why I'm most interested in Birth by Sleep. Given that Terra and Ven both visit Destiny Island, I expect to see the connections take shape in that game. I feel as though 358/2 Days will cover the Sora/Roxas/Ven thing more fully.

[Wolf Kanno]

Perhaps Terra's discarded heart from when Xehanort's heart possessed his body? Xemnas's lack of memories certainly suggests that for whatever reason there was an anomaly there. It has a potential explanation there anyway.

Xemnas had his memories I thought. I thought Roxas and Namine were the only ones who didn't have memories? I know Xehanort lacked memories. I guess we will have to wait and see.


This is why I'm most interested in Birth by Sleep. Given that Terra and Ven both visit Destiny Island, I expect to see the connections take shape in that game. I feel as though 358/2 Days will cover the Sora/Roxas/Ven thing more fully.

I too, am looking forward to the game (why the PSP though?) and I'm hopeful that 358/2 will explain the Nobodies and Organization XIII more fully. I'm sorta of hopeful cause Nojima is not writing for either title and instead we have Daisuke Watanabe (who co-wrote Kingdom Hearts 1 and wrote the awesome KH: Chain of Memories). He seems to have a better sense of pacing and a strong ability to bring out heartfelt moments of the characters without feeling overly cheesy, imo. I just hope Nomura doesn't pull another KH2 and decide that neither game should explain everything for the sake of making more sequels and spin-offs. :rolleyes2

[Tavrobel]

Perhaps Terra's discarded heart from when Xehanort's heart possessed his body? Xemnas's lack of memories certainly suggests that for whatever reason there was an anomaly there. It has a potential explanation there anyway.

Xemnas had his memories I thought. I thought Roxas and Namine were the only ones who didn't have memories? I know Xehanort lacked memories. I guess we will have to wait and see.

Nothing in the game suggests that Xemnas had no memories at his formation. Xehanort is a person, and therefore, he is allowed to have amnesia and get away with it.

Roxas was likely to have a good portion of his memories; he participated in the naming ceremony. Remember that he didn't lose anything until DiZ captured him.

[Wolf Kanno]

Perhaps Terra's discarded heart from when Xehanort's heart possessed his body? Xemnas's lack of memories certainly suggests that for whatever reason there was an anomaly there. It has a potential explanation there anyway.

Xemnas had his memories I thought. I thought Roxas and Namine were the only ones who didn't have memories? I know Xehanort lacked memories. I guess we will have to wait and see.

Nothing in the game suggests that Xemnas had no memories at his formation. Xehanort is a person, and therefore, he is allowed to have amnesia and get away with it.

Roxas was likely to have a good portion of his memories; he participated in the naming ceremony. Remember that he didn't lose anything until DiZ captured him.

Not true, DiZ only removed Roxas' memories of his time as a member of Organization XIII. KHII states many times in his flashback that Roxas didn't have any memories of being Sora. He even got frustrated with Riku when he kept calling him by the name of Sora (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnincg_SeZ8&feature=related). Though it is interesting that Xemnas seemed to know who Roxas was the Nobody of.

[Tavrobel]

Not true, DiZ only removed Roxas' memories of his time as a member of Organization XIII. KHII states many times in his flashback that Roxas didn't have any memories of being Sora. He even got frustrated with Riku when he kept calling him by the name of Sora. Though it is interesting that Xemnas seemed to know who Roxas was the Nobody of.

I didn't say all of his memories. It is clear that even though he didn't know who his true nature was, it was enough to illicit a strong reaction from him; he had to have known something. Furthermore, if he didn't truly know anything at all, there would be no reason for him to join OXIII, and there would have been no inclination to. He can stay perfectly ignorant, but, that didn't happen, so he had to have known something and wanted to know more.

His frustration with Riku probably came as a result of the natural Nobody disposition to always be pissed, and for Riku challenging his identity. I would be pissed if someone said that who I was did not matter.

[Wolf Kanno]

Not true, DiZ only removed Roxas' memories of his time as a member of Organization XIII. KHII states many times in his flashback that Roxas didn't have any memories of being Sora. He even got frustrated with Riku when he kept calling him by the name of Sora. Though it is interesting that Xemnas seemed to know who Roxas was the Nobody of.

I didn't say all of his memories. It is clear that even though he didn't know who his true nature was, it was enough to illicit a strong reaction from him; he had to have known something. Furthermore, if he didn't truly know anything at all, there would be no reason for him to join OXIII, and there would have been no inclination to. He can stay perfectly ignorant, but, that didn't happen, so he had to have known something and wanted to know more.

His frustration with Riku probably came as a result of the natural Nobody disposition to always be pissed, and for Riku challenging his identity. I would be pissed if someone said that who I was did not matter.

I've always gotten the impression that Roxas knew absolutely nothing of his former life and joined OXIII cause Xemnas probably promised him they would help him discover the truth about himself. I believe DiZ even mentions the fact that Roxas and Namine were unique Nobodies, not only because of their abilities but also because they are the only high level Nobodies who cannot remember their former lives.

Its obvious that Roxas was very important to the Order. I'm pretty sure that if Roxas knew about Sora completely, their was the strong possibility that he would ditch the Order cause somehow I doubt he would be able to gain a heart when it was still walking around fine as day. Thus OXIII's plans would not really help him. I'm certain that the majority of 358/2's plot will focus on him being tricked to join the OXIII, and the conspiracy by Xemnas to keep him in the dark.

[Tavrobel]

I've always gotten the impression that Roxas knew absolutely nothing of his former life and joined OXIII cause Xemnas probably promised him they would help him discover the truth about himself. I believe DiZ even mentions the fact that Roxas and Namine were unique Nobodies, not only because of their abilities but also because they are the only high level Nobodies who cannot remember their former lives.

Its obvious that Roxas was very important to the Order. I'm pretty sure that if Roxas knew about Sora completely, their was the strong possibility that he would ditch the Order cause somehow I doubt he would be able to gain a heart when it was still walking around fine as day. Thus OXIII's plans would not really help him. I'm certain that the majority of 358/2's plot will focus on him being tricked to join the OXIII, and the conspiracy by Xemnas to keep him in the dark.

I can agree that there was some level of trickery or deception in getting Roxas to join. However, I don't think it was about the quest for his identity. After a certain time spent with the OXIII, it seemed as though Roxas had developed a passing ease with his own personality. Though Roxas is not like the others, it can be seen that does carry a good number of traits that are true for other, regular Nobodies.

I think that the OXIII were more concerned with them meeting at all. It wasn't an issue of keeping him in the dark, but rather, how to reveal the information to him in a way that benefited Xemnas the most. Meeting before the plans were laid would've ended badly; Roxas even already had plans to leave due to not knowing. Xemnas should have known this, and if he did, then it would stand that he would try to make sure his most recent acquisition did not leave in frustration, which actually, ultimately failed.