KH Character Files: Short Stories - Young Xehanort, Terra-Xehanort, Ansem, Xemnas
- Details
- Published on February 27, 2020 @ 05:47 pm
- Written by Sign
Next up from the Kingdom Hearts Series Character Files are short stories for Young Xehanort, Terra-Xehanort, Ansem and Xemnas!
As always, credit goes to goldpanner for the translations!
Young Xehanort Story: Transcends Time
I'm pretty sure I first saw him in Traverse Town, in my dreams.
“He's right inside this projection, in another imagining of this world,” Joshua had said, showing me Riku in another Traverse Town. That guy was there in the image. “As for how the world got split in two… I have a feeling you'll need to ask this guy.”
Riku was facing a man in a black coat—the same coat the guys from Organization XIII wear. The hood on the coat was slowly pulled back to reveal a young man with silver hair. At the time I had never seen him before, let alone met him, but I had the feeling I knew him.
The next time we met was… right, the World That Never Was.
“Come with me.”
He had formed out of an arrow shot by Xigbar, and was holding his hand out to me. I was already in a dream, but I got sleepy… and then I woke up on Destiny Islands.
“Yes. This was where it started.”
He was right there, sitting on the beach next to me. And yet, the guy we were watching was him as well. Beside him, standing at the edge of the water, was the man in the brown robe.
“At this point, I still had no idea that I was talking to myself. He cast away his bodily form just to set me on the appointed path.”
“What do you mean?” I honestly had no clue.
“That is Xehanort reduced to just a heart——the being you and your friends called "Ansem."”
And then I fell asleep again, into a dream.
This guy is always coming and saying things to me that don’t make any sense. He puts on this know-it-all face as he talks to me. What on earth does he know?
Terra-Xehanort Story: Golden Eyes
Kingdom Hearts hovered in the sky.
This was the badlands, not far from the Keyblade Graveyard. Terra readied his Keyblade against Master Xehanort. His breaths were ragged, and impatience showed in his expression.
“Admirably done. I knew this was a journey you could make—over the unseen wall that divides darkness and light. And I was not wrong, Terra!”
From the beginning, Master Xehanort had held but one goal: to discard his aged body, and take Terra's as his new vessel.
At the Mark of Mastery exam, he had once said to Terra: “Yes… You are indeed strong. The darkness is nothing to fear.” He was merely planting a seed. Even so, that seed was now taking root.
Terra rushed at Master Xehanort, Keyblade in hand. Vanitas moved to block his way, their Keyblades clashing together.
“You see how powerless you are to save them? Savor that rage and despair. Let it empower you!” Master Xehanort boomed. He was even smiling.
Yes, almost there—just a little longer. It was happening.
“Let your whole heart blacken with anger!”
Master Xehanort pushed his Keyblade into his own chest, and light began to pour out.
“At last, our moment is here. Out with the old and brittle vessel, and in with a younger, stronger new one! I swore I would survive… and be there to see what awaited beyond the Keyblade War! And now it is your darkness that shall be the ark that sustains me!”
Terra fell to his knees, summoning his armor—perhaps in an attempt to protect himself. But, it was too late. The armor crumbled to the ground, and the body within looked up.
His hair was dyed silver, his eyes glittering gold. That was the moment that Master Xehanort took Terra's body under his control.
“This heart belongs again to darkness. All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it—it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came.”
Terra-Xehanort started walking—only to find himself caged in by a barrier. He turned to find the suit of armor, whose owner should have been long gone, standing tall and wielding a Keyblade.
“What?" Terra-Xehanort yelled. "Your body submits, your heart succumbs—so why does your mind resist?”
The armor—the Lingering Will—put up a fierce resistance, and an intense battle began. Finally, the Lingering Will slew Terra-Xehanort. In that instant, a torrent of light and darkness exploded out, engulfing them both. When it faded, that armor was the only thing that remained in the badlands.
And so, Terra-Xehanort stood alone in Radiant Garden.Who am I…?
“Terra?”
The one calling out to him was Aqua. Ironically, it was her voice that awakened Xehanort.
“Terra's heart has been extinguished—smothered by the darkness within him.”
Terra-Xehanort's golden eyes glittered.
Ones born of the heart and darkness, devoid of hearts, ravage all worlds and bring desolation.
Seize all hearts and consummate the great heart.I found that poem at the center of the darkness that swallowed the worlds, on a computer in the World Terminus. I had no idea what it meant, though. All I get from the writings Ansem left behind—the Ansem Reports included—is that they are not saying anything good. Not that I can be sure this was even written by Ansem. We did find out later on that some of the stuff we thought he wrote was actually by someone else—I'm a little fuzzy on all the details. Basically, Ansem was actually Xehanort's Heartless! And that Xehanort was hijacking Terra's body! In any case, I didn’t have a single clue about any of this at the time.
After that, we continued on into the heart of darkness, and we opened the last door. Spread out on the other side was the ocean of Destiny Islands.
“This world has been connected,” came the sound of Ansem's voice, and the islands vanished. Our breaths caught. “Tied to the darkness... Soon to be completely eclipsed. There is so very much to learn. You understand so little. A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing.”
That's when I remembered: just before leaving the islands, I met a man who had said those exact words. So he was Ansem!
“I’m gonna get out and learn what’s out there!” I fired back.
Yeah. There's a lot I don't understand, but there are many things I do know.
Right before my eyes the sands crumbled away, and things melted away into the darkness. And there was Riku, standing with his back to me. Riku, with Ansem commandeering his body. He turned, and as he did, he transformed into Ansem.
“You see," he said, "darkness is the heart’s true essence.”
“That’s not true!” I replied. It was something I had learned on that very journey. “The heart may be weak. And sometimes it may even give in. But I’ve learned that deep down, there’s a light that never goes out!”
I challenged Ansem, Keyblade in hand.
But, the island vanished, and pitch black clouds concealed the sky.
“Behold the endless abyss! Within it lies the heart of all worlds: Kingdom Hearts!” Ansem's voice was resounding in the darkness. “Look as hard as you are able. You’ll not find even the smallest glimmer of light. From those dark depths are all hearts born. Even yours. Darkness conquers all worlds!”
In the darkness, when I had no idea what to do, I heard Riku's voice.
Giving up already? Come on, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that.
Then I fought Ansem, who had transformed into a monster, and won.
“It is futile. The Keyblade alone cannot seal the door to darkness. Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness…”
A huge door floated up behind Ansem.
“You’re wrong. I know now, without a doubt, Kingdom Hearts... is light!” I shouted, facing the door. Light flowed out from inside it, swallowing Ansem.
“Light… But... Why…”
I watched his body fade away, engulfed in the light.
That's a memory from my very first journey. I can never shake what I learned then.In the deepest darkness, there is a light. Kingdom Hearts is a heart—a light—that can extinguish any darkness.
Xemnas always acted like he was trying to tempt us or something. Whenever he appeared, it was like watching a play. Maybe that was because he didn't have a heart.
This happened back when Radiant Garden was still called Hollow Bastion. We were fighting some Nobodies that were attacking the town.
Six guys in black coats appeared in front of us. They were members of Organization XIII. Their faces were completely hidden in their hoods.
The first time I saw Xemnas' face was at Hollow Bastion, too. He showed up before the huge battle against the Nobodies.
He turned to us, and slowly pulled back his hood. He looked down at us, a silver-haired man.
“It's the guy who's NOT Ansem!” Donald shouted.
“You mean it's his Nobody!” Goofy followed.
“The leader of Organization XIII…” I said.
“Wait a minute," King Mickey cried at last. "Now I know! Now I remember! Xehanort! Ansem's apprentice!”
I think that was the moment Mickey realized who exactly the man who called himself Ansem had been.
“Xehanort!” we yelled.
“How long has it been since I abandoned that name…” he said, like he was reciting a monologue.
“Out with it, Nobody! Where's Kairi? Where's Riku!?” I yelled, readying my Keyblade.
“I know nothing of any Kairi. As for Riku… Perhaps you should ask your king,” was all he said, and then he vanished.
We'd filled up our quota on stuff we didn't understand, when Axel showed up.
“Way to fall right into their trap.” Our hackles raised reflexively at the sight of Axel's black coat. “C'mon, it's a set-up by Organization XIII. Xemnas is using you to destroy the Heartless—that's his big master plan.”
“Xemnas?”
“The guy you just saw. He's their leader. Got it memorized? X-E-M, N-A-S.”
That was the first time we heard his name.
Then, finally, we confronted Xemnas in the World That Never Was. We had just foiled the completion of Kingdom Hearts.“Ohh… my Kingdom Hearts… ruined," Xemnas said, sounding like he was in the middle of a monologue as always. "Now I'll have to start all over again. Warriors of the Keyblade! Go forth, and bring me more hearts!”
Riku, King Mickey and I all pointed our Keyblades at him and shouted, "No!"
Xemnas shrugged calmly. “You accept darkness, yet choose to live in the light. So why is it that you loathe us who teeter on the edge of nothing? We who were turned away by both light and dark—never given a choice?”
“That's simple. It's because you mess up our worlds,” Riku said, plainly.
“That may be... However, what other choice might we have had?” Xemnas' face was sad. But he didn't have a heart. So—
"Just give it a rest! You're Nobodies! You don't even exist! You're not sad about anything!" I yelled, and Xemnas laughed.
“Very good. You don't miss a thing. I cannot feel—sorrow... No matter what misery befalls the worlds. No matter what you think, what you feel, or how you exist.”
Xemnas lifted both hands to the sky. Countless hearts—hearts that had been scattered about the world—began to rise to the heavens.
It was so dazzling I had to close my eyes.
Then, we challenged Xemnas to the final battle.
To read more stories, check out our previous articles for Terra, Ventus, and Aqua, and Master Xehanort, Master Eraqus, and Vanitas.
COMMENTS
To be honest I'm glad Xemnas' story was hijacked to be so vanilla. I do NOT wanna see or acknowledge any characterisation of him that came after KH2. I dislike his mentions in the KH3 Ultimania a heck of a lot too. I'd rather have something bland than offensive at this point.
Those aren't exactly "stories" are they?
They're more like short recaps of DDD, BBS, KH 1 and KH 2 and do not exactly give anything new about these characters. The other six we had beforehand at least gave some new insight even if small.
These four are, sorry to say it, I fear a waste of space and words.
Those aren't exactly "stories" are they?
They're more like short recaps of DDD, BBS, KH 1 and KH 2 and do not exactly give anything new about these characters. The other six we had beforehand at least gave some new insight even if small.
These four are, sorry to say it, I fear a waste of space and words.
The sad thing is that there are more like these that are just recaps. At this point we've just accepted it and are still going to go through the rest of them.
I'm not really sure why they chose to do this either. Like, the only people who would be buying this book are fans who already know the story. How would these recaps benefit them? Oh, to be a fly on the wall when Kanemaki made the decision to write these the way she did...
:mad:
RIP people who bought this book expecting new stuff
I got excited when YX mentioned Joshua, for half a second.
Well these ones were fairly disappointing. Would have enjoyed hearing the inner thoughts of these villains. Maybe explain why Terranort, despite being Master Xehanort's heart in Terra's body almost acts nothing like him.
The sad thing is that there are more like these that are just recaps. At this point we've just accepted it and are still going to go through the rest of them.
I'm not really sure why they chose to do this either. Like, the only people who would be buying this book are fans who already know the story. How would these recaps benefit them? Oh, to be a fly on the wall when Kanemaki made the decision to write these the way she did...
Leave it to the KH series to have almost everything half-baked and leaving much room for improvement, lol.
I dunno, I'm tempted to theorize that either Kanemaki didn't get any new stuff for those characters to work with (like behind-the-scenes stuff from KH 3) or maybe it is a deliberate thing to show off which characters won't appear anymore in the main story, but it's most likely is either time constraints or simple oversights.
It is irritating though that the first six (TAV, Eraqus, Xehanort and Vanitas) had the whole thing written from first-person POV while these are (yet again) centered on Sora.
He's becoming a spotlight-stealing little shit again like in vanilla-KH 3. :p
I feel like these reveal a bit more about Sora than they do about the characters they're suppose to focus on. At least from what I could see the ones about the Main Characters tend to give us at least some more insight into the characters, these sadly do not.
Ghese character files are time displaces. DDD was made literally 7 years ago, why bother recapping that info in 2020? Big yikes and an oof tbh.
Second qe have to conaider yhe fact that yes, Sora is voicing these cinematics...but why are they WRITTEN and not voiced? To have these mementos of exiating characters be voiced and have the recaps be placed in KH3 would be fantastic. This would help newcomers who camed from the KH3 Demo Ver. Get their necessary recap on the new faces that Sora continually screams "I REMEMBER YOU, YOU'RE FROM THE CATHEDRAL/FIRST OF XEHANORTS/XIGBAR".
Just do it like DDD did and feature the memento as a skippable cutscene for pro players/people who are up to speed
If y'all want a preview, we'll be doing Luxubar and the Dandys next (I mean just Marluxia and Larxene).
I'll say right off, there's like maybe 2 or 3 paragraphs from Xiggy's fake preview that's actually in the real one.
I feel like these reveal a bit more about Sora than they do about the characters they're suppose to focus on. At least from what I could see the ones about the Main Characters tend to give us at least some more insight into the characters, these sadly do not.
Even then...not really. I am working on transcribing the Worlds section and...Sora’s insight just really sucks...
Even then...not really. I am working on transcribing the Worlds section and...Sora’s insight just really sucks...
Well... What did you really expect from him, he's been flanderised quite a lot xD
I kinda wonder what was the point of having these "stories" in the book when they aren't really anything???
I kinda wonder what was the point of having these "stories" in the book when they aren't really anything???
To fool people into buying it? Cuz it worked :(
I am a bit disappointed that the HBRC didn't get a story although I didn't expect it. Still leaves a bit of a weird taste in my mouth that TWEWY is more acknowledged than they are
I kinda wonder what was the point of having these "stories" in the book when they aren't really anything???
My belief is that, rather than write straightforward summaries, they decided to have Kanemaki write summaries in prose-form to give them a bit of a twist.
Instead of it feeling fresh and insightful, it ended up feeling aimless and rehash-y.
The one thing that usually makes these sorts of “Character File” books interesting, at least when we get them for other popular franchises, is that they give us cool little tidbits about characters. Their favorite foods, their blood type, birth dates, their favorite hobby when they aren’t doing whatever they normally do.
The problem with KH is that Nomura doesn’t want to commit to any of these sorts of fun facts because he frankly probably doesn’t care, and it leaves Kanemaki having to fill the gaps without overstepping. And when she does overstep, it either ends up being really cute (TAV and their stuff with sweets) or really divisive (Vanitas and Xion). So she avoided overstepping here for the most part.
And so we are left with a book that has some okay stuff, some stuff we already knew, or just downright boring Sora insight.
To fool people into buying it? Cuz it worked :(
My belief is that, rather than write straightforward summaries, they decided to have Kanemaki write summaries in prose-form to give them a bit of a twist.
Instead of it feeling fresh and insightful, it ended up feeling aimless and rehash-y.
The one thing that usually makes these sorts of “Character File” books interesting, at least when we get them for other popular franchises, is that they give us cool little tidbits about characters. Their favorite foods, their blood type, birth dates, their favorite hobby when they aren’t doing whatever they normally do. The problem with KH is that Nomura doesn’t want to commit to any of these sorts of fun facts because he frankly probably doesn’t care, and it leaves Kanemaki having to fill the gaps without overstepping. And when she does overstep, it either ends up being really cute (TAV and their stuff with sweets) or really divisive (Vanitas and Xion). So she avoided overstepping here for the most part.
As much as I think Kanemaki really over does it sometimes, like with Vanitas and her self-inse-I mean Xion...I mean self-insert; the one plus I can give her is she clearly cares about wanting to give the characters more than what just Nomura has of them. It's probably why I like Day's story despite my issues with Roxas and Xion.
This group was unfortunately more disappointing. Still, really appreciate the time spent on translating these. I look forward to reading more. Just to throw out some potential ideas though for these characters:
Young Xehanort - His opinion when meeting MoM
Ansem - Awakening as a humanoid heartless and continuing his research
Terranort - Being appointed as an apprentice and his opinions on his fellow researchers
Xemnas - Awakening as a Nobody for the first time or just an account of his daily life at TWTNW
This group was unfortunately more disappointing. Still, really appreciate the time spent on translating these. I look forward to reading more. Just to throw out some potential ideas though for these characters:
Young Xehanort - His opinion when meeting MoM
Ansem - Awakening as a humanoid heartless and continuing his research
Terranort - Being appointed as an apprentice and his opinions on his fellow researchers
Xemnas - Awakening as a Nobody for the first time or just an account of his daily life at TWTNW
And when she does overstep, it either ends up being really cute (TAV and their stuff with sweets) or really divisive (Vanitas and Xion). So she avoided overstepping here for the most part.
How was Xion's divisive? Vanitas, I've read why here and in other places. But Xion's seems pretty harmless. Never heard any disdain.
I'm more surprised and disappointed that Roxas got stuck with a recap about Days and Xion. There's so much to cover for him that could be interesting, especially with what we didn't see in KHIII. His feelings about HPO, maybe a tidbit on how he talked to Riku or Isa, the two emotional triggers that had him flash over Sora in the game (how he managed that), etc. Kanemaki loves to box him with Xion or RAX for some reason (well, I can reason why, but it won't be taken kindly). Axel's was a surprise, cause it was about Ventus. It was, well, refreshing. Even if again there's nothing inherently new.
But more surprising is what I read about Naminé's short story file, so I'll probably have some questions there if it turns out like the two other translations.
These ones left me confounded for so many reasons.
First, it took me until the second "story" to realize that they were being narrated from Sora's perspective, so through the YX one I was totally confused why he was talking about himself in the third person like he couldn't recognize himself. Terrible writing.
Second, what wasted potential! As bland and vacuous as these "stories" are, the norts could have at least been the most interesting characters to provide some introspection on. Frankly, I don't need any more insight into the thoughts of the heroes—I was actually somewhat intrigued to hear what the various incarnations of Xehanort feel about their own existence in relation to the old man who's using them all/himself for his own ends.
Third, like what everyone is saying, absolutely NOTHING of note here. These should not have been written. They offer nothing, they ARE nothing. They are a waste of language, breath, time, and mental energy. I refuse to even call these "stories". They are brain farts. Kingdom Hearts-themed brain farts, pure and simple.
I feel so bad for any poor suckers who got cheated into buying this trash, and might I just say, SHAME on Kanemaki and Square Enix and whoever else was involved in the publication of this drivel. Just like Union X gatcha, this is yet another deceitful trick to squeeze more money out of their inordinately loyal fans. As a fan, a writer, and a consumer, I say this is absolutely disgraceful.
Sora: This particular villain approached me from out of nowhere and told me that I would fall to darkness. Me! Ridiculous, I thought. I told him that I would never fall to the dark. Where did he even come from? The darkness, probably. I know that the light will guide me through the darkness. He may have come from Xehanort. Crazy stuff.
I think the YX one is particularly bad. It doesn't even put any narrative spin, on him and the two tiny scenes aren't even his most interesting scenes in Sora's DDD by a long way. It's a shame because I think he's well written in the games, with a malice and sarcasm entirely lacking here.
Disappointed with these lot especially as far as both Ansem and Xemnas are concerned. We could have gotten one final short story from them, a way to cap these two off and give them some extra closure or more insight into them but NOPE, gotta pull a recap on us and stick Sora in there to tell their stories.
These ones left me confounded for so many reasons.
First, it took me until the second "story" to realize that they were being narrated from Sora's perspective, so through the YX one I was totally confused why he was talking about himself in the third person like he couldn't recognize himself. Terrible writing.
Second, what wasted potential! As bland and vacuous as these "stories" are, the norts could have at least been the most interesting characters to provide some introspection on. Frankly, I don't need any more insight into the thoughts of the heroes—I was actually somewhat intrigued to hear what the various incarnations of Xehanort feel about their own existence in relation to the old man who's using them all/himself for his own ends.
Third, like what everyone is saying, absolutely NOTHING of note here. These should not have been written. They offer nothing, they ARE nothing. They are a waste of language, breath, time, and mental energy. I refuse to even call these "stories". They are brain farts. Kingdom Hearts-themed brain farts, pure and simple.
I feel so bad for any poor suckers who got cheated into buying this trash, and might I just say, SHAME on Kanemaki and Square Enix and whoever else was involved in the publication of this drivel. Just like Union X gatcha, this is yet another deceitful trick to squeeze more money out of their inordinately loyal fans. As a fan, a writer, and a consumer, I say this is absolutely disgraceful.
This is just a couple of non-canonical records. Do not go too far. ((
KH fans are very toxic.
This is just a couple of non-canonical records. Do not go too far. ((
KH fans are very toxic.
Nah, he’s right. They marketed this book on the short stories being something new. They even had that preview of Luxubar that was really intriguing and it set the bar high for what the rest of the book will be. The actual Xigbar story is a bit different and honestly not as fun of a read as the preview and it is clear that they used the preview to misrepresent the book.
I don’t think SE or Kanemaki intentionally tried ripping anybody off, but I do think they tried making this book come off as more important than it really ended up being which is a shame.
How was Xion's divisive? Vanitas, I've read why here and in other places. But Xion's seems pretty harmless. Never heard any disdain.
People either LOVE Xion or they see her as this useless self-insert that took up important time that should have been spent developing the Organization characters. After all she wrote the scenario for Days. That’s pretty divisive to me.
This is first time I’ve ever heard xion referred to as a self-insert. I’ve heard Mary Sue but not self insert.
Anyways I have to wonder was kanemaki rushed with some of these? Because some stories are clearly more unique then others.
Sora: This particular villain approached me from out of nowhere and told me that I would fall to darkness. Me! Ridiculous, I thought. I told him that I would never fall to the dark. Where did he even come from? The darkness, probably. I know that the light will guide me through the darkness. He may have come from Xehanort. Crazy stuff.
I thought it was supposed to be the characters' telling their point of view or talking about themselves. When I was reading the Ansem one I was like... since when does Ansem speak intelligently, then transition to blabbering idiot? Then I realized it was Sora retelling what we already know lol.
Petition to have Kanemaki replaced by Launchpad.
God I would make KH so weird. I would establish so many character dynamics that no one asked for. Goofy disapproving of Roxas. Aqua suppressing her carnal attraction for Xigbar. Ventus shaving
Sign
February 27, 2020 @ 07:24 pmOffline