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''What wouldst thou know, my Queen?''
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Organization XIII (XIII機関 Jūsan Kikan; lit. "XIII Order") is a group of thirteen powerful Nobodies who seek to reclaim their hearts and become whole again. They are the antagonists of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II, and all are playable in the game Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, which happens after Roxas's birth.
Background
The six founders of Organization XIII
From left to right: Ienzo, Even, Terra-Xehanort, Braig, Aeleus, and Dilan
Organization XIII was formed by a group of scientists working under Ansem the Wise. The head of this group was Ansem's apprentice, Terra-Xehanort (under the pseudonym Xehanort at the time), with the others being Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo. Ansem the Wise began initiating tests about the human heart with the hopes of recovering Xehanort's lost memories. At the urging of Ienzo, he constructed a massive laboratory under the castle. However, Ansem the Wise soon ceased his experiments, for he feared that going too deep would have grave repercussions.
However, the six apprentices continued the experiments on countless subjects, discovering the Heartless as a result. Eventually, the six apprentices surrendered to the darkness, creating a Heartless and Nobody for each apprentice. The six Nobodies then banished Ansem to a Realm of Nothingness, and went on to for Organization XIII, with other member joining in the future.
The Organization yearns to discover the secrets of the heart and fill the empty void inside themselves by gathering hearts to form Kingdom Hearts so they can become full beings again. However, the real objective, one only known to Xehanort's Nobody, Xemnas, is to use the members as vessels to become 13 replicas of the real Xehanort. Each member is aware of their lack of emotions, and many of them pretend to have emotions, for example, Saïx's enraged battle style and Larxene's giggling and winking. Despite this, most of the members begin demonstrating true emotions as time goes on, while some members are remarkably disloyal to Xemnas, and much of their stories revolve around key betrayals or attempted coups. This made many of the members unfit for becoming Xehanort clones.
Uniform
The Black Coat
Each member in the Organization dons the same uniform, regardless of whether they are male or female. The uniform consists of a single black leather hooded coat. It is plainly adorned with a silver zipper and seemingly pointless silver beaded pull strings for the hood that form a semi-circle in the middle. Each member wears their zippers at differing points.
Not much is known about the undergarments of the Organization. It is known, however, that they all wear hakama-esque black pants and knee-high silver trimmed boots, with the exceptions of Roxas, who wears sneakers of the same color, and Larxene and Xion, who wear a more feminized version of the boots with heels. In addition to this, they all wear black leather gloves of some unknown length, as they disappear under bell-shaped sleeves. Some members have different looking coats, for example, Axel, whose sleeves are tight around his wrists. Upon closer inspection, it can be seen that the hems of each cloak are each slightly different, as well as the shoulder pads (such as those of Demyx and Xigbar, which seem to be slightly pointed).
The reason that Organization XIII wears black cloaks is that Xehanort once wore one. As Xemnas regained his memories, he remembered the black cloak that was worn by Master Xehanort and incorporated the cloak into Organization XIII.
Rank
Ranks within the Organization have little to nothing to do with power. While Xehanort's Nobody, known as Xemnas, is the strongest as well as the leader, the rest are assigned by order of seniority. Thus, their numbered rank is based on the order they joined and not necessarily representative of their status and power. Until Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days the total number of members, like its name suggests, was thirteen.
Name
Roxas undergoes the naming ceremony.
All of the members have an "X" that appears within each of their names. As revealed by Tetsuya Nomura, the director of the game, by removing the "X", the remaining letters form an anagram of the members' original names from when they were humans. For instance, "Roxas" is an anagram of "Sora", and "Xemnas" is an anagram of "Ansem". Xemnas's true name is Xehanort; his name is an anagram of 'no heart' or 'another' with an X added. Xion, being an artificial Replica, had no original name. The name "Xion" came from her label as Replica No.i of the Replica Project.
The reason for the placement of the "X" in the naming process of a new Organization XIII member has to do with Master Xehanort's fascination with the legendary X-blade. As Xemnas regained memories of Master Xehanort's past, he remembered the χ-blade and incorporated the "X" into Organization XIII.
Members
There were initially thirteen members (fourteen with the inclusion of Xion), but by the time of Kingdom Hearts II, the actions of Sora, Axel, Riku, and the Riku Replica, in addition to the departure of Roxas, reduced the Organization's roster to eight, which were then slain by Sora one-by-one (with the exception of Axel) until only Xemnas remained. Ultimately, Xemnas fell at the hands of Sora and Riku.
- Main article: Xemnas
Xigbar is the Nobody of Braig and Rank II within the Organization. Xigbar went down defending the Organization's headquarters from Sora, Donald, and Goofy, disappearing into Darkness after his defeat. In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, though he was "destroyed", Xigbar is now revived (alongside Xemnas, Saïx, and the heartless Ansem) to serve as a member of the new Organization.
Xaldin is the Nobody of Dilan and Rank III within the Organization. He was on a mission to turn the Beast into a Heartless and gain control of his powerful Nobody. By the combined efforts of Sora, Beast, and their friends, Xaldin was defeated and he disappeared into darkness and wind. With Xaldin destroyed, Dilan was revived.
Vexen is the Nobody of Even and Rank IV within the Organization. Vexen opposed Marluxia's plot to overthrow the Organization and Marluxia wanted him eliminated. Vexen was then incinerated by Axel as a way to gain Marluxia's trust, allowing Even to be revived.
Lexaeus is the Nobody of Aeleus and Rank V within the Organization. Lexaeus met his end while trying to make Riku use the Darkness inside him and disappeared into Darkness, reviving Aeleus from him.
Zexion is the Nobody of Ienzo and is Rank VI within the Organization. Zexion was stationed at Castle Oblivion during an attempted coup by Marluxia. Axel wanted no evidence of his actions in Castle Oblivion, so when Zexion was extremely weary from his battle with the real Riku, Axel had the Riku Replica absorb Zexion. He disappeared into gaseous Darkness while engulfed in the Replica's energy. After Zexion was destroyed, Ienzo was revived.
Saïx is the Nobody of Isa and is Rank VII within the Organization. Saïx was defeated by Sora, Donald, and Goofy, but is eventually revived to serve in the new Organization alongside two other original Organization members, Xigbar and Xemnas.
Axel is the Nobody of Lea and is Rank VIII within the Organization. Axel was eliminated in a sacrificial attack to save Sora from an army of Dusks. Similar to a fire, he seemed to "burn out" into Darkness, resembling ashes. Lea was revived soon after and retained his memories of Axel.
Demyx is Rank IX within the Organization. Demyx was a participant in the Battle of 1000 Heartless. He confronted Sora and company just for the sake of battling in the war. He disappeared into Darkness and appeared to have boiled up and evaporated.
Luxord is Rank X within the Organization. He captured Donald, Goofy, Riku, and Kairi, forcing Sora into one of Luxord's "games." Sora was able to beat him by "winning the game" and slashing through his shield of cards. He disappeared into gaseous Darkness.
Marluxia is Rank XI within the Organization. Marluxia staged a coup within the Organization using Sora as his catalyst. However, when that failed, he sought to destroy the boy instead. He eventually merges with his Nobody underling to defeat Sora, but the expense depletes him of energy and he is beaten. He disappeared attempting to grab Sora in gaseous Darkness in a flurry of flower petals.
Larxene is Rank XII within the Organization. Defeated by Sora, Donald, and Goofy. She was part of the coup with Marluxia. Larxene set off on a mission to kill Sora after her plan fell apart. She would have succeeded, but an attempt to save Sora by Naminé, Donald, and Goofy gave him the strength to fight back, and Larxene eventually met her end.
- Main article: Roxas
True Organization XIII
The true Organization XIII (真のXIII機関 Shin no Jūsan Kikan), also known as the thirteen seekers of darkness (13人の闇の探求者 Jūsannin no Yami no Tankyūsha) is a group consisting of thirteen different incarnations of Xehanort that debuts in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. It was created by Xehanort in case the first Organization had ever failed in its true purpose - to have each of the Nobody members host a fragment of Master Xehanort's heart, turning them into clones of Xehanort. Because of the original's failure from the members' treason and independence, Master Xehanort had arranged for Young Xehanort to be sent by Ansem, Seeker of Darkness to travel to different periods of time and gather different individuals to become part of the new Organization. For the new members to exist in the present, Xehanort had revived the replica project to serve as vessels for the hearts of the past, and inevitably, the hosts for his own heart, enabling his incarnations to coexist. Twelve of the Organization's seats were successfully filled and Master Xehanort was revived. When the group tries to make Sora its thirteenth member, however, the boy is rescued by Riku and his friends, forcing the group to retreat to their proper times.
The thirteen members of the true Organization XIII are:
- Master Xehanort
- Xemnas
- Ansem, Seeker of Darkness
- Xigbar
- Dark Riku
- Vanitas
- Saïx
- Luxord
- Marluxia
- Larxene
- Xion (defected)
- Young Xehanort
- Terra-Xehanort
In addition, two former members, Vexen and Demyx, were brought back as reserve members of the organization. However, their roles were limited to the outside of Xehanort's primary objective; Vexen was brought back to continue the Replica project and Demyx as a last-minute alternative. The two have since deserted the organization and joined-re-joined the residents of Radiant Garden. Vexen was once again restored as Even. What happened to Demyx is currently unknown.
Appearances
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
The Organization makes their first appearance in the series (apart from Xemnas' appearance in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix). The neophytes - Marluxia and Larxene - tried to take control of the Organization by using Sora as their puppet, while the senior members - Zexion, Lexaeus, and Vexen, tried to oppose them by using the darkness in Riku. However, all of them, save Axel, were eliminated.
Kingdom Hearts II
Only eight members (Xemnas, Axel, Demyx, Xaldin, Xigbar, Luxord, Saïx, and Roxas) of the Organization remained at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts II. Sora and his friends took every single remaining member down so that Sora and his friends could save Kairi. In the end, Organization XIII is ultimately destroyed when Sora and Riku defeat Xemnas.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
The story largely focuses on Roxas's time as a member of the Organization XIII, and thus, all the members are present here. This and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep are the only installments to date where the fourteenth member, Xion, is ever mentioned.
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
While Dilan, Even, Aeleus, Ienzo, Isa, and Lea appear in the game in minor roles, Braig serves as a major player in Xehanort's ruthless ambitions, acquiring his signature scars and eyepatch following a battle against Terra. Of Ansem's apprentices, Braig plays the largest role overall in the story until the appearance of Xehanort. Axel, Roxas, and Xion also appear in the game's secret ending.
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
The six known members of the True Organization XIII
Following the Organization's defeat, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, Ienzo, and Lea are revived, though the other members' original selves are not shown. However, the threat of Organization XIII turns out to be far from over, as Sora learns through his confrontations with Young Xehanort, Xemnas, and Xigbar that the true purpose of Organization XIII was to create an Organization of thirteen different incarnations of Xehanort himself, though this plan initially failed due to the members' unforeseen independence. Under the leadership of the newly reformed Master Xehanort, the new Organization XIII is formed by Master Xehanort himself, Young Xehanort, Xemnas, Xigbar (who claims to already be "half-Xehanort"), Ansem, Saïx, and six other hooded figures. Master Xehanort almost succeeds in making Sora into the final vessel for the Organization, but Riku, Mickey, Lea, Donald, and Goofy succeed in saving Sora and driving Master Xehanort to retreat. In the game's secret ending, Yen Sid implies that Master Xehanort has successfully formed his new Organization XIII.
Trivia
- Xemnas and Roxas are the only members shown wearing something other than the Organization's signature Black Cloak: in Xemnas's case, he had a suit of armor and a modified black-and-white cloak; in Roxas's case, he wore a casual outfit.
- Roxas and Xemnas are the only Organization members whose weapons are not designed after the Nobody sigil.
- At least eight of the Organization members were citizens of Radiant Garden, and Sora released his heart, creating Roxas, within the Hollow Bastion.
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