Organization XIII Week: Real Somebodies and Serious Nobodies Part I

The members of Organization 13 were not only a set of some of the most villainous characters to be found in the Kingdom Hearts series, but by far some of the most interesting. Being a set of 13 individual “nobodies” each seeking knowledge, power, and hearts in an attempt to become a whole being or, for some, the ultimate being, it was intriguing to watch these Nobodies without hearts blossom into their fake personalities. However, there were some nobodies who were just that–nobodies. And then there were some nobodies who did everything but live up to that title. Starting from 1 to 13, including that 14^th unofficial member, I’m going to analyze each Organization member’s relevance not just within the Organization, but within the Kingdom Hearts series as a whole. Also, I’ll explore the odds that we will be seeing their “somebodies” in the future.

Xemnas: The Ultimate Somebody

Xemnas is the perfect example of the Nobody. He is both emotionless and monotone, and yet he has complete hold over the memories of when he had a heart.

Starting with the head master himself, Xemnas by far was anything but a Nobody. At the same time, he was the perfect Nobody. He was cold and emotionless the majority of the time we interacted with him and his long, drawn-out speeches just made him even more of a bad guy than Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. Every action made by every Organization member was led by his instruction–even if they didn’t always realize or understand it. One would imagine that he had the intention of being the sole Organization member standing regardless of how they were taken out. He never planned to put himself in harm’s way against any Keyblade wielder until his goal for ultimate power was achieved, even if that meant sacrificing lesser members of his Organization. He was the puppet master pulling the strings of his oblivious and yet obedient followers. A fan favorite indeed, Xemnas may have been labeled a Nobody, but he was anything but throughout his time in the series.

For the simple fact that Terra looked very similar to him, Xemnas seems to have managed to largely tap into his memories of Terra as opposed to those of Master Xehanort, which is attested to by his desire to find the Chamber of Awakening and his constant visits to the Chamber of Repose. Nomura has acknowledged recently that the reason why Axel felt as though Roxas had a heart was because he obtained Ventus’ when Sora released his own (hence the similarities of the two). Imagine this: considering Terra’s body contained his own heart, Master Xehanort’s heart, and Master Eraqus’ heart, could Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, have obtained the heart of Master Xehanort (explaining why his appearance so heavily resembles the form of the young Master Xehanort) and Xemnas received Terra’s heart?

Even more evidence for this theory can be taken from the fact that, while Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, was searching to obtain and embrace the darkness through Kingdom Hearts, Xemnas was looking to obtain power. Sound familiar? Terra had a problem with his darkness in Birth by Sleep due to him wanting more power, whereas Master Xehanort had already fully embraced the darkness and felt it was mightier than the light. During 358/2 Days, on day 27, after Roxas had fallen into a coma, Xemnas made note of saying that he had fallen asleep once again. Roxas only fell into a coma once at that time, so what exactly was Xemnas referring to? He clearly must have recognized Ven within Roxas, because when we first meet Ventus in Birth by Sleep, Ven had fallen into a coma. When Roxas entered the Organization, the Xion replica was near completion so there was no need for Roxas. Maybe Xemnas sought him out because of his connection to Ventus?

There's still a lot of mystery surrounding Xemnas. Is he more of Terra than Xehanort? And will we be seeing Xehanort return in the future?

One key factor in Xehanort’s possible return is that in Final Mix when Xigbar mentions that Xemnas goes to the Chamber of Repose and talks to the armor and even hears another voice, that other voice he hears could be that of Master Eraqus, who was tucked away in Terra’s heart. Terra is unaware of the secrets of being a Keyblade Master, so he alone could not know about the Chamber of Awakening in Castle Oblivion without being told from Master Eraqus, who knows the secrets of Castle Oblivion. Even if Aqua’s armor could talk I doubt she would have been the one to tell Terra considering what occurred the last time they saw each other.

There are many loop holes in the Kingdom Hearts series (thanks Nomura), but if Roxas managed to take the form he did due to him having Ventus’s heart, you can’t rule out the same possibly occurring to Xehanort. This could all lead to the burning question of when Xehanort returns, whose heart will be in control? This will no doubt be a driving factor of the future Kingdom Hearts story.

Xigbar: A Nobody…. As If!

Xemnas’s number 2 for over ten years, IT’S XIGBAR! Sarcastic, cocky, and very laid back. He never showed the personality of a Nobody, only the personality of a man with an agenda. What is his agenda exactly? Ten years later and we still aren‘t quite sure, but that just makes his presence in the series all the more stronger. Nobody knows what made Braig decide to help Master Xehanort in Birth by Sleep. There must be something important known between the two of them that would explain why their deal with one another would still be in play 10 years later. Although Xehanort/Xemnas is the one pulling the strings in these events of Kingdom Hearts, it’s obvious that Xigbar is the one standing behind him, making sure he is putting on the best show.

Clearly Xehanort and Braig had a deal in place. But will Braig come back in future installments to maintain his deal with Xehanort?

Considering Xehanort had lost his memories, we can assume that Xigbar (Braig) was the one who encouraged Xehanort and Ansem the Wise to do experiments and research on the darkness of people’s hearts. He likely did this in hopes of triggering Xehanort’s memories so that they could continue with their plans. In Kingdom Hearts 2 and 358/2 Days, Xigbar is a very sly character who snoops around to find out information. Maybe we aren’t the only ones who think that Xemnas acts a lot like Terra–perhaps Xigbar sees the similarities, too. Considering his fishy behavior, maybe Xigbar was only half-heartedly trusting Xemnas because of all the clues that Terra may be in there somewhere. Maybe even Xemnas himself was cautions of Xigbar? That may explain why, though Xigbar is number 2, he wasn’t second in command. Rather, Saix who nothing of Xemnas‘ past held that role.

Nonetheless, Xigbar holds all the secrets to Xehanort’s past. Funnily enough, Xigbar is one of the only Organization member who doesn’t seem to need to answer to either Xemnas or Saix. Nor does he feel the need to show any seriousness or show any type of devotion to the Organization as a whole. Xigbar mentioned in the secret reports that Kingdom Hearts seems to be resisting Xemnas/Xehanort. Maybe he is also sneaky because he has a plan B somewhere in case things end up going down south? Without a doubt, Xigbar will make a return in future Kingdom Hearts games. Even Xigbar knows he will make a return. His amusement at his defeat by Sora’s hands leads one to believe that he knows he will see the Keyblade bearer again and that by destroying him he has done him a favor in possibly helping him become whole again.

Thanks for tuning in for our Organization special and leave your comments below! The next part will be posted on Wednesday, June 22nd. Stay tuned during the next two weeks for even more installments!

A normal resident on the KHU forums, Cloudy is a big fan of Final Fantasy 7 and its related games. Incidentally, she and her identical twin sister are both authors of this article and spend quite a bit of time discussing the intricacies of Kingdom Hearts (perhaps being twins helps them relate to Roxas and Ventus a little deeper…). With the bubble of ideas Cloudy and her sister come up with, readers can expect to see more of their work in the future.